Remember me When I'm Gone
by Cornelia93
Summary: Cornelia starts acting weird and distances herself from Caleb until they finally break-up but there's only one problem, they still love each other. Will they get back together or will they live in misery and what is Cornelia’s secret? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**Hey, guys. I'm finally writing again. After a long year of no writing is feels good hehe. So, anyhow this story is about Caleb and Cornelia it may have some love triangles but they just appear like that and if you'll start reading you'll see why they only appear like that :P. It's in coming chapters so you'll just have to wait and see. **

**Now, Caleb and his sibling twins, a boy and a girl, moved to Heatherfield. They've been living there for over 9 months but only if you'll read you'll find out why xD. So, anyway I hope that you'll like the story and on with the chapter.**

**Chapter 1:**

Keira Hart walked through the front door to find her older brother, Caleb, sitting on the couch staring at a mug of coffee he had made hours ago. He was a handsome 18 year old young man; with dark-brown hair that reached his emerald-green eyes, he had a muscular figure which made all the Meridian girls want to cling to his strong arms when he passed by. Keira tossed her school-bag on the ground and then hung her keys on the hook. She made her way to the kitchen in order to make herself a sandwich since she was hungry.

"Aren't you going to say hi to me? I've just came home with a ton of homework to do thanks to Josh." She said a bit furious at her brother. She took out the mayo and ham from the refrigerator and closed it behind her.

Josh was Keira's twin brother but they were nothing alike. While she had light-brown hair he had almost jet-black hair, while she had the most beautiful aquamarine eyes he had emerald-brown eyes. Their appearances weren't the only thing that was different but their personalities were different as well. She was all adventure all the time and he was so reserved it made Keira question from which part of the family he resembled because none of the Harts were reserved people. I mean, they practicly made up the whole Meridian Rebel Army.

"Umm… Hello, Heatherfield to Caleb?" she said, getting the whole hello-earth-to-whoever concept all wrong.

"Oh, uh… hi Keira." He said barley looking at her. "Its earth to Caleb, not Heatherfield to Caleb." He corrected, she ignored him just like she always did when he corrected her English or phrases.

"Ok, what's wrong?" she said as she put her sandwich on a plate, then she poured herself a glass of , "You've been all sad and depressed looking these past two weeks."

"No, I'm not sad and depressed." He said defensively, he stirred his coffee and rubbed his eyes a couple of times as if they were stinging him. Keira made her way to the couch and sat her plate and drink on the coffee table. Then she said;

"Oh c'mon. You haven't shaved in about a week or so and you're starting to smell like rotten cheese." She took a bite of the sandwich and added, "If I didn't know better I'd say you want to look like a hobo."

"I really smell bad?" he asked as if hard to believe. He hadn't taken a shower for over a week or so, and it made Keira shudder in disgust.

"Whew, you reek." She said in disgust. Keira finished her sandwich and drained her glass of in silence. "So, what's wrong with you? Is there something I can help with? You can trust me."

Caleb took a deep breath and sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just frustrated about uh… something." he couldn't think of a thing in order to say to his sister so that she wouldn't bug him anymore but after a few seconds he just gave up on the thought and gave her a weak smile.

"What do you mean nothing? You haven't gone out in like…ages, you haven't taken a shower in a week and you're always tired." She said, letting out her frustration towards her brother, "Are you a bit moody because of Cornelia?"

"What about Cornelia?" he grabbed his sister by the shoulders and shook her violently as if she held a big secret that threatened his life. "Did she tell you something? Did I do something wrong in order to upset her? What did I do?" At that moment their brother Josh stepped inside and said;

"What about that witch? Give or take a few letters." He smiled at his own joke and then closed the door, "Did she move away or something? 'Cause that would be wicked." Caleb got up from his seat and went to where his brother was; he grabbed him by the collar and held him in the air. "Don't you ever dare say that about her. Got it?" he said, he shook him in order to get him to talk. "She is not a witch and if I ever hear you say anything like that I will personally cut your tongue off." Finally, after swallowing hard at the thought, Josh said; "Ok, got it." and held out a thumbs up sign and then grinned sheepishly.

Caleb put him down on the ground with a thud and then went up the stairs to his room. "What's his problem?" Josh said stupidly. Keira rolled her eyes at him and went after her older brother.

Caleb trudged up the stairs while cursing his brother under his breath for what he said about his Cornelia. He entered his room and slammed the door behind him. The door was almost unhinged with the force of the slam. Since his family moved to Heatherfield Cornelia just got distant and distant. He had told her that since the war was over between the Rebels and Phobos, he was going to move to Heatherfield in order to be close to her and because his younger siblings needed a good education. He was sure that he could provide for them like his mother and father could do so he went along with them. They hadn't come with them since they didn't know how earth worked and instead stayed in Meridian.

He slumped on the bed and just stared at the ceiling, thinking only of Cornelia. He pictured her long, blonde silky hair and how he liked to play with it when she used to rest her head on his shoulder, he thought about her small petite waist and how he liked to hold her tight. Even though she was two years younger than him she was pretty mature for her age. Probably because her father died when she was only 7 and so she had to take care of her younger sister Lillian while her mother would be out job hunting or at work. At the image of his gorgeous Cornelia, his sister knocked on the door and said; "Knock-knock." She smiled and entered his room, making sure she closed the door behind her.

"You know, I'm supposed to say come in first. That's how it usually works." He said in a moody voice.

"Oh, really? I didn't know that." She smiled and sat next to him on the bed. "To answer your questions, before we were so RUDELY INTURRUPTED!" She yelled in order for Josh to hear her, "She told me that she doesn't have a lot of time on her hands now that her mother is working again. And you haven't done anything to upset her. She's just a bit occupied with all the stuff that's been happening around her."

"That's it? So, we're not fighting?" he sat up from the bed and then said, "That's great." This made Keira laugh so hard that she thought her ribs would crack. "So, if there _was_ something wrong she would tell me, right?" At that moment Josh stepped into the room.

"Maybe she has something to hide and she doesn't _want_ to tell you. Maybe she took you for granted and thought that now she had you all for your own she could do whatever she wanted with you." He said with a smile, he had an apple in his hands and then took a bite from it.

"Cornelia is _not_ like that. I think you're confusing her with Christa." Keira piped up, "She's the one who does things like that. You should know. You've experienced it first hand." She smiled at her brother for the first time that day.

Christa was his ex-girlfriend and she had an affair behind his back with one of his best-friends, Markus. She was the only girl that Josh ever had feelings for and when he found out about the secret affair, his heart was crushed. The next day he broke it off with her and was now single. When Keira mentioned Christa's name he stopped chewing the apple and swallowed hard. He ignored her and then continued talking to Caleb, "If you guys know her so well then there's no need questioning each other, right?" he pushed the thought of Christa to the back of his mind and continued, "Let's say that she is with another guy. You wouldn't be the first guy she'd tell. It's not like she'd want to spoil the pleasure of having two men under her spell."

This was all Caleb could take, first Josh called Cornelia a witch and then he just pranced into his room and accused Cornelia of having an affair behind his back? If he thought he was going to get away with it he had another thing coming. He got up from the bed and went straight to where Josh was standing, Josh had a smile spread across his face which made Caleb's blood boil even more. He pinned him to the wall and said heavily, "Listen, if you think Cornelia would cheat on me then you don't know the Cornelia _I_ know. First of all, Cornelia is **NOT **like that and second, she loves me. Ok? So just lay off of us and stop trying to break us apart." he held Josh too tight by the shirt and it was now beginning to tear, that's when he heard Josh yelp in pain. Accidently, Caleb had grabbed Josh's chest hair along with the shirt and had ripped a chunk of hair. Finally, he let him go.

"Ok, ok. Oh man, you ripped out my only chest hair, now why did you have to do that?" he asked as he rubbed his chest soothingly, "God, what's with you today?" and then went down the stairs in order to go into the living-room and watch TV.

"Sometimes I wonder how we two could be related." Keira said as she got up from the bed. "You should go talk to her. Maybe she just wants to talk and she's afraid to call you."

"You're probably right." Caleb said, "But I should probably take a shower first, huh?"

"And you really need a shave. If you let it grow a bit more you'll look like an old fashioned Jew." She said with a laugh. She stepped out of the room to give her brother some privacy. He let out a deep sigh and looked at the picture he had of him and Cornelia which was taken the previous summer. They both looked so happy and content at that time. He got his clothes and then went into the bathroom and took a nice cold shower which was just what he needed to cool his nerves. After he was washed and dried he shaved his almost long beard and then got dressed in a pair of jeans and a black and white stripped hoodie. For shoes he decided on wearing a pair of black and white skate-shoes which he found were really comfortable. He went down the stairs, one by one. Once he was down he found that his brother was watching wrestling while his sister was doing her homework.

"Josh, aren't you supposed to have homework or something?" he asked as he made his way into the kitchen. He took out a glass and poured himself some fizzy-cola from the fridge.

"Uhh… I' don't have any?" he lied.

"Oh, yeah? Then how come your sister got a ton of homework because of you and you didn't get any?"

"Because Mrs. Bradly thinks I'm cute?" he smiled.

"Hah, nice try. Go do your homework and then you can watch wrestling." Caleb said with a pretend chuckle. He was now acting like a real father which made him feel a bit old.

"Oh, man." Josh turned off the TV and then went to get his school books, "Undertaker was just about to tombstone Umaga."

"That's not such a great fight, Undertaker won it hands down." Caleb said as he drank the last bit of his fizzy-cola.

"Now, why did you tell me who won? That's so unfair, now you spoiled it for me." Josh said as he threw the books on the table and began doing his Science homework. Keira just smiled at him and continued doing her own Science homework. Caleb just shrugged and stepped out. Since he knew how to drive, he drove all the way to Cornelia's house. Once he was there he parked his car in front of her house and stepped out, locking the car behind him. Since her father's death the Hale family had to move into a much smaller house since the money was a bit short. It wasn't much to look at but they just had to do with it. It was Cornelia's house all right, it had the same beautiful exotic flowers that she loved so much. At the thought of Cornelia he felt his heart being squeezed. '_You deserve so much more than this, Cornelia', _he thought but yet she never complained about it. She just shrugged it all off.

He knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting for someone to open the door. His heart was pounding hard against his chest. What if she didn't want to see him? What if she had a secret that was too personal and she didn't want to share it with him? These thoughts were running through Caleb's mind just as Mrs. Hale opened the door and said; "Caleb! What are you doing here?" as if shocked that he came by.

He snapped out of it and said, "I came to talk to Cornelia." He paused and looked at her with pleading eyes, "Please , I _need_ to talk to her."

"She's doing her homework and she can't come down." Mrs. Hale said. She was acting as if she wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, which wasn't like her.

"Then I'll go up myself." He pushed aside and made his way up the stairs. Once he was up the stairs he found Lillian playing with her Barbie-dolls. Accidently, he almost stepped on her favorite doll and once he saw this, he knelt down and gave it to Lillian who gave him a hug as a thank you and since it was a long time since she last saw him. He walked to Cornelia's room and then knocked on the door. Not waiting for an answer, he opened the door and found Cornelia on the bed doing her homework just like her mother said. Books filled her bed, pens and pencils were scattered everywhere along with notes and crumpled pieces of paper.

She looked up from her textbook completely shocked by Caleb's sudden appearance. He made his way in and closed the door behind him, making sure they had as much privacy as possible. Not that he needed it, everyone knew that she was ignoring him and acting strange. At the sight of her, Caleb's anger just melted away. She was just so beautiful, even when she was shocked and surprised. Her creamy, soft skin was luminous in the light and her hair fell naturally across her face which made Caleb want to hug her tightly and never let go.

"Caleb! What are you doing here?" she asked, just like her mother did. She sat up having her legs come under her weight.

"I wanted to see you. You've been ignoring me for the past few weeks and I didn't want to lose you, I still don't, I wouldn't bear not being with you." He made his way towards the bed and knelt down on his knees. "Tell me why you're not returning my calls, please? Did I say something to upset you? If you tell me what I did, I'll see how I can fix it. Please, just give me another chance." Seeing Caleb like that made Cornelia want to cry, right there and then, right in front of him. He was asking for a second chance for something he did not do, he didn't even know what he did wrong and he was asking her for a second chance, it was typical Caleb.

"You did nothing wrong." She said as she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "What would make you think that you did something wrong?"

"Because you haven't returned any of my calls and you just seem to be getting so distant all the time." He said, he grabbed one of her hands and kissed them lovingly.

"Well… uh… I didn't get the chance. I've been so busy taking care of Lillian and all that I just lost track of time."

"All the better situation to call me. I could've baby-sat her. I wouldn't have mind." He said. He smiled at her but she had a certain look that just made Caleb puzzled.

"Oh… thanks." Then there was an uncomfortable silence which made Caleb feel weird for no entire reason. Just then Cornelia took a quick glance at a half packed suit-case which lay open on the floor. '_Please, don't look at it'_ she prayed silently but as soon as she finished the thought, Caleb looked at its direction which made him curious and suspicious.

"What's that?" he pointed to it and got up, he made his way toward it and noticed that it was filled with Cornelia's clothes and belongings, "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I-I forgot to tell you. I was gonna call you but I couldn't." she said with a guilty look on her face, "I'm going out of town."

"What? When?" he said, this was major news for him. How could Cornelia _not_ tell him that she was going out of town? "For how long?"

"This weekend, it's just a couple of days. I won't be long."

"Where exactly is out of town?"

"Just out of town."

"C'mon, Cornelia, that could be anywhere, Chicago, San Francisco, Idaho anywhere. Tell me where? It's me Cornelia you're talking to. Caleb. The one you claim to love. Remember?" he rubbed his face and stared at the window, ironically a couple passed by, holding hands and talking into each other's ear making each other laugh. It was getting dark now and it was almost 8:00pm. "What in the hell is going on here, Cornelia? First, you avoid me for weeks and now you're going away? Out of town? Just out of town?"

"Yes, Caleb, just out of town." She said calmly, "What is it you want from me, Caleb? Do you want to break-up with me? Is that what you want? Then do it. Its ok, I understand. I-I'm sure it's better like this. For the both of us."

"What? I just want some answers that's all, I don't want to break-up with you." He sat on the bed and looked deep into her aquamarine eyes, "Why can't you tell me what's wrong? This isn't like you, Cornelia. I know there's something wrong, I can see it in your eyes. Why can't you tell me? Don't you trust me enough? I can keep a secret, you know I can."

Her eyes were starting to burn but she held back her tears, _'Because I'll break your heart.'_ She thought, she wanted to tell him so badly but she just couldn't risk breaking his heart. She looked down at her Math homework, her hair falling over her face completely covering her expression. "I can't tell you because there's nothing wrong for me to tell. Uh… I've been wondering … maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore. I mean, you're mostly in Meridian or you're staying home with your brother and sister and we just never see much of each other anymore. Trust me, Caleb, its better this way." She took a deep shaky breath and continued, "There probably are dozens of girls who want you as their boyfriend."

"Cornelia, listen to what you're saying. I don't want a Meridian girl as my girlfriend I want a beautiful, strong and intelligent earth-guardian as my girlfriend, I always did and I still do." Just then, a scary thought passed his mind, what if his brother was right? What if she was running away with her lover, to spend the weekend away from Caleb and all alone with _him_? "Unless… there's someone else, you're sick of me aren't you? Do you seriously want to go out with other guys? Just tell it to me straight."

She didn't utter a word, she just stared at him with her beautiful ocean-blue eyes. This was a lot for Caleb to take, he felt the air inside him escape, as if someone hit him hard in the stomach. Once he took a deep breath he said, "You're going away with him this weekend, aren't you? Is this what you don't want to tell me? Is this it? You don't have to now, because I figured it out all by myself." As soon as he said this she turned pale and was sweating like mad.

"Oh, why? Why did you have to do this to me, Cornelia? I love you. I've trusted you and now you go and crush my heart like this?" his eyes were burning with tears but he didn't want to let them fall down his cheeks, he took a deep breath and continued, "Do you have any idea how I feel right now? I-it's like… I can't even breathe."

She got up from the bed and went next to him, she put a hand on his shoulder but he just shoved her away. "It's going to be ok, Caleb. It's probably for the best."

"How is it ok when my heart is breaking in two?" he had his back to her, "It's only the best thing for _you_." He turned around and moved passed her and opened the door. But before he stepped outside he said; "Josh was right, you did take me for granted and this is probably the last time you'll ever see me. Good-bye, Cornelia Hale. You won't have to see my face ever again." He stepped out and slammed the door behind him. As soon as she heard him start his car and take off, Cornelia fell on her bed crying her eyes out.

"Oh, Caleb, I'm so sorry for what I did." She managed to say. She felt as if a part of her was **literally dying**. Even though she wasn't cheating on him she somehow felt as if she betrayed him. _'It's probably better this way, it's probably better for him to think that I cheated on him.' _She thought.

But the thought that she did the right thing by letting him think that she was cheating on him was not something that lessened the pain and misery she was feeling right now. She covered her head with a pillow and continued crying until the crying stopped when she was sound asleep. Her Math homework lay open, unfinished, on her bed beside her feet.

Caleb was speeding in the streets of Heatherfield, passing by every red light that appeared. He pulled over at the liquor-store, he entered the store and bought a bottle of whiskey and a six-pack of beer. He drove off to who knew where while drinking from the bottle of whiskey, finally letting his unshed tears fall over his cheeks. After sometime of driving, and after he drank the booze he bought, he went home. Once he opened the door, he found his brother and sister staring at him.

"Caleb, why do you smell of whiskey and beer?" his brother asked.

"Move out of the way." He said as he pushed past them but almost tripped over the rug, he was seeing double and he felt as if the whole room was shaking.

"Oh, great. He's drunk." Keira said, "C'mon, help me get him to his room." She told Josh.

"Ok." Together, they hived him up the stairs and into his room. Once they were inside, they put him gently on the bed and then took off his shoes. "Good night, Caleb." They both said while they closed the door gently. They made their way back down the stairs. Then Josh said;

"How do you think it went?"

"Oh, God you're so dense. He's drunk, how do you think it went?" Keira said frustrated.

**End of Chapter1:**

**Ok, finally it's ready. I've been working on this chapter all day and now I'm so dang sleepy. Uhh… so anyhow tell me if you liked the chapter and if you want me to keep updating. I'll try not to take so long. -xKrissyx—**


	2. Chapter 2

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**Hey, guys I'm back. So anyway thanks for the reviews you've sent me I've liked the positive tone. So, anyway this is Chapter 2 and I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 2:**

The following days were spent by Caleb not daring to leave his room while Josh and Keira tried to convince him to go out with them. Maybe if he left that room he'd forget his worries a bit. Josh was thrilled that Cornelia broke up with Caleb but he still felt bad for his brother. By now the gang, Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin, all knew about the whole break up and they just couldn't think of how Cornelia could do such a thing to Caleb. After all the time she said how she truly loved him and how she just couldn't live without him and then she went and betrayed him like that. It just made no sense. But life goes on and they decided on not to bringing it up anymore. Maybe Cornelia felt a bit worse than Caleb did so it was best on just leaving it the way it was. But Hay Lin and Taranee didn't think otherwise.

They felt that there was something else they could do for the both of them but after they talked it over with Keira, Will and Irma, they didn't agree and so they never spoke of it again. But after some time of thought the guys thought that they would still talk to Cornelia just like they always did. After all, if a person did nothing wrong to you then there's no reason you shouldn't talk to them, right? Well that's what they thought. It had been a week since Cornelia 'revealed' the truth and she was now back from her weekend with who knew who.

Will, and the guys were at school just as always sitting at their usual place talking and just having a laugh when Cornelia made her way towards them. She put her things on the ground and sat crossed legged. "Hey, guys." She said politely. They just glanced at her and mumbled something. She let out a deep sigh and just stayed there in silence. Just at that moment the bell rang signaling the Sheffield students that another day of school was beginning. _'Saved by the bell' _she thought sarcastically. Cornelia got up just like the others did but no one uttered a word to her, or to each other. She picked up her things from the ground when she felt a tapping on her shoulder. It was Keira, "Hey, Keira. Do need something?" she asked.

"No. But I have a question though." She said while crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Why did you cheat on my brother? Doesn't he deserve more than what you did to him?"

"It's… complicated. I just can't tell you." She said, she truly was sorry about what she did but she just couldn't tell them what really happened. "I'm sorry."

"Ok, whatever. Listen, the girls and I are going to that old abandoned building site we always go to; if you want you can come with. The girls need to use their powers because they say they're getting a bit rusty and I need to train with my sword for a while. It's your choice." She made her way inside the school when Cornelia called after her.

"Tell Caleb, I-I'm sorry." She said, she made her own way into the school and went to her locker.

"Sure, whatever." Keira went to get her books from her locker and then made her way to the first class of the day, Home Ec. And unfortunately for Keira, it was with Cornelia. They made their way into the room and found their working station. was putting on her apron and scarf until the class got settled.

"Ok, class. Today we're baking ginger-pudding." She said cheerfully. Hopefully, the class would behave themselves today. If someone flung flour or dough one more time she'd just lose it. Once they put on their aprons and scarves they sieved the flour and mixed in the salt, ginger and margarine. They did this all in silence, Keira just didn't want to talk to Cornelia and she understood completely.

They spent the following hour cooking, baking and steaming the pudding until Cornelia yelped out in pain, she accidently burnt her hand on the stove. Keira put her hand under running cold water and then bandaged it. She was feeling so tired that she accidently put her hand on the burner. But why she was tired Keira didn't have a clue but she sure as hell looked tired.

"Thanks." She said as she sat down on her stool and waited for the pudding to be ready.

"No problem." Keira sat right next to her and then said, "I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder. It's just… I feel bad for my brother, you know?"

"I know. I'm _really_ sorry for what I did but I just can't tell you the truth." She looked at her now bandaged hand and just sighed.

"What do you mean the truth? Did you or did not cheat on my brother?" Keira asked eagerly. Cornelia didn't say a thing but then said;

"I can't tell you."

"I knew it. You didn't cheat on him. I knew you're not like that." She gave Cornelia a bone-crushing hug. "Take that Josh." She said, he wasn't in the room at that moment so she said it partly to herself which made Cornelia smile.

"I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth, Keira." Cornelia said after they pulled apart. "I told you, it's complicated. I just can't tell you."

"Ok, but just confirm one thing for me." She said hopefully.

"Sure, what?"

"Did you cheat on him?" she asked.

"No. But that's the only thing I can tell you." Cornelia was now facing another bone-crushing hug. She smiled and hugged her best-friend back. "Don't tell anyone though."

"But…"

"Just don't, please." Cornelia said.

"Ok, I promise I won't." Keira smiled at her, happy about the good news but she was a bit bummed that she couldn't tell her brother. It would make him feel so much better. "But the pudding is burning, I think." Once they turned around they saw that the pot was boiling, Keira turned the oven off and then lifted the pudding up. It looked horrible, just then came next to their working station and said;

"Hm… poor work Keira and Cornelia. But… I'll give a D for effort." She then continued walking and grading the other students work until they burst out laughing.

"She always hated me." Keira said between laughs. The rest of the day went by slowly. All the time, the guys kept giving Cornelia the cold shoulder but she just ignored it. Keira kept her promise and didn't tell a soul about the truth but she still felt a bit bad about it. During lunch Cornelia didn't feel hungry so she just drank some strawberry-milk which to her surprise was really good since she didn't like it. After lunch she had Math which was always a drag but for the first time ever she fell asleep while was explaining Pythagoras' Theorem. Since she was in the back no one noticed but Taranee sure as hell noticed that Cornelia had dozed off. She tried waking her up by talking to her telekinetically but it was no use. As soon as the bell rang Cornelia woke up with a start, totally confused at what happened. At this Taranee went by and asked her what was wrong but she told her that she didn't get much sleep the previous night. Finally, the day was over and Cornelia was free to go home. Once she was home she found that her mother's friend, Jennifer, was baby-sitting Lillian until Cornelia came home while her mother was off at work.

"Hey, Jen." She said as she put her school bag on the floor and closed the door behind her, "Thanks for taking care of Lillian for me while I was at school."

"It's ok. I'm happy I can help." Jennifer packed her belongings and then went on her merry way. Cornelia felt light-headed again but she steadied herself on a chair, just then Lillian came up to her and tugged at her shirt.

"Are you okay, Cornelia?" she said sweetly. A smile crept its way onto Cornelia's face at how cute her sister was. Sometimes she was a pain in the neck but sometimes she knew to be really sweet. Lillian grabbed a glass of water and gave it to her sister who took it, thankful it wasn't full of worms or anything disgusting. Lillian had a habit of doing stuff like that but in the end they were still family and they loved each other like any sister would.

"Thanks." She took a sip from it and then knelt down in order to get eye-level with her younger sister which was shorter than her. A big surprise for a 5 year old kid. Cornelia gave her a hug and just held her tight. They stayed like that for over 5 minutes until Lillian spoke up saying;

"Can we at least sit down? My legs are getting tired." Cornelia laughed at this and lifted her up to a chair around the table.

"There, better?" Cornelia just had to smile but the smile was quickly turned into a frown, she was feeling sick now. She went running into the bathroom and began puking her guts out. After about 5 minutes with her head in the toilet she emerged from the bathroom to find Lillian looking horrified at her.

"What's wrong?" Cornelia asked as she drank some more water.

"Why do you keep on getting sick? Are you ok?"

"Well… um… I just have the flu or something." Cornelia lied. At this Lillian went running to Cornelia and hugged where she could reach, which wasn't a lot, her legs. She wrapped her arms around her thighs and just hugged her tight. Lillian knew that it wasn't the flu; she knew that it was something more serious then any kind of bug but she just couldn't figure it out.

"I don't want you to die, Cornelia." She cried, Cornelia knelt beside her and hugged her back,

"I'm not going to die if I catch the flu. I've had it dozens of times before and I'm still here."

"Do you promise you won't die?" Lillian asked as she looked into her sister's eyes.

"Heh-heh, I promise. Now c'mon, you've got to do your homework."

"But homework is boring. All you do is write, write and write." Lillian pouted, she was lifted on the chair by Cornelia who then said;

"It's just drawing and adding 1+1." She sat next to her and took out her own books and stuff.

"Which is 2." Lillian took out a pencil from her pencil-case and began writing.

"Yeah, it is. You're going to become the next Albert Enstine." Cornelia said with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah. Oh yeah." Lillian danced a bit which made Cornelia laugh. The next 2 hours were spent by doing homework, teaching Lillian how to add and subtract, and by playing Barbie dream-house. After that time, came home from work. She took off her shoes and hung her car keys on the hook. "Hey, sweet hearts."

"Hey." They both said.

"Mom, I gotta go out so see you later." Cornelia got up from the ground and gave Lillian the Barbie doll she was playing with, "I got to get away from this tiny midget." She ruffled Lillian's hair and then kissed her mother on the cheek and went to the old abandoned building site Keira told her about.

She didn't feel like walking so she just decided on turning into guardian form and just fly herself to the old building site. It was getting dark now and so it was good cover. Not that many people usually went out this time of the day so not that many people could see her flying around. In about 15 minutes she was there, the others were already there all except for Keira. She usually was late, just like her brother usually was. At the thought of Caleb she felt her heart being squeezed. '_I wish you were here Caleb'_ she thought silently. Usually when they trained he would be there training with them but this time he wasn't. She landed right next to Irma which was battling Hay Lin.

"Need some help?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed a chunk of earth and threw it at Hay Lin who easily dodged it. Just then Hay Lin sent a small tornado at them, this caught Cornelia totally by surprise and was caught in the middle of the tornado. Irma had moved out of the way just in time. After the dust settled, a coughing Cornelia was revealed. The guys were all in a laughing fit but Cornelia wasn't amused. She got up to her feet and then brushed the dust off of her skirt.

"Ok, ok it's not that funny. You just caught me off guard." She said as she took the leaves out of her hair. Just then Keira entered the building site.

"S-sorry about…. being late." She panted while holding her sword tightly in her hand, "What's so funny?" She adjusted her bow and arrow and waited for an answer.

"Cornelia, she was caught in one of Hay Lin's tornados." Irma managed to say between laughs. "A small one."

"Ah, just shut-up." Cornelia said, "C'mon, let's continue." And so they did, but now they switched partners. Taranee was now with Hay Lin while Cornelia was with Will so that just left Irma with Keira. She was pretty good, even fighting against Irma who could fly off whenever she wanted too. They continued on fighting just as always. Taranee was sending Hay Lin the most enormous giant sized fire balls that she could make while Hay Lin kept blasting them off with her wind power.

Irma was sending Keira water blasts from the air which would make Keira go for cover behind a bulldozer. But Irma couldn't keep that up forever so Keira leveled the playing field a bit by shooting arrows from her quiver. The bow and arrows were given to her by Elyon and so they held sentimental value. So everyday she would practice which always came in handy in these kinds of situations.

Next were Will and Cornelia, Will was sending her quintessence at Cornelia but she blocked them by a big boulder which would appear in front of her with a snap of her fingers. After Will's quintessence shots were blocked, Cornelia sent big chunks of earth whirling at the red head. Will flew off but was only caught by one of Cornelia's vines but just as quickly as she was caught she escaped because she cut the vines by using her energy blades, which, with training, she found that were useful in sticky situations. Will was now free again and sent a big blast of quintessence back at Cornelia, she didn't get the chance to block it and was hit hard in the stomach. She was sent flying in the air until she hit a steel barrel completely making her stop.

"Cornelia!" Will yelled. She didn't mean to hurt her, she was just trying to make her block the blasts. She went flying towards her and came to a halt right in front of her. Keira and the others stopped fighting and went to Cornelia's aid. "Oh my God! Cornelia! I didn't mean to do this. I'm so sorry!" Will said.

She managed to get up but she was now seeing double, "It's ok. It was an accident." She put a hand on her stomach and a shock of pain was sent through her whole body, "Ow! You sure pack quite a punch." She said with a smile.

"Why are you smiling? This is no laughing matter." Taranee said.

"Yeah, you could've gotten seriously hurt." Hay Lin said.

"Thank God you didn't." Will said as she sighed in relief.

"What's wrong with you, Cornelia? You've been skipping classes, falling asleep during lessons and now you just wiped-out. Two times in a row." Irma said in a worried voice. "Not to mention the way you burned your hand during Home Ec. Keira told us." Even though Cornelia and Irma usually fought over silly things, Irma still cared about her, she was like a sister to her and she wanted to know why she was acting this way.

"Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me. Shish, why do you guys keep asking me that? I'm fine, in fact I'm great." She said letting out her frustration towards everything; the world, her father and just about everything else. But she was mostly mad at her father for leaving her while she was so young, she still remembered the day he died. It was in the middle of November just 5 years ago and it was a dark and cold day. She still remembered the expressionless stare he had at the funeral and when she saw him she cried so hard that it made her little sister start crying as well. Lillian was still a baby so she didn't remember much of their dad. Cornelia took a deep breath and said;

"Look, guys, I'm sorry for my outburst. It's just… I've been so moody lately and I don't know why." She said calmly.

"It's ok. I think that's enough training for today, right guys?" Keira said as she sheathed her sword and put her bow and arrows around her back.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired now. And I could use with a hot nice bath." Irma said as she smiled at the idea.

"I think we all could use a nice hot bath." Hay Lin said. They transformed into their normal, teenage selves and began walking home. Cornelia stayed behind with Keira while the other goofed off in the front. She touched her stomach and winced, God it hurt. That Will really knew how to pack a punch no wonder the guys she battled in Meridian never got back up.

Keira saw Cornelia was in pain and said, "Does it hurt a lot? 'Cause it looks like it does."

"Heh, you have no idea." Cornelia said, after a few minutes of walking they were at Keira's house and so they dropped her off. Cornelia noticed that Caleb was at the front porch staring at a magazine. God he looked hot! Cornelia gave Keira a quick hug just as soon as she was about to leave and whispered in her ear; "Don't tell him a thing that I didn't cheat on him, got it?"

"Ok, got it." She whispered back, "Well, good-night, guys."

"Good-night." They all said. Keira put down her bow and arrows and then gave her sword to her brother which he quickly put next to him. He saw that Cornelia was looking at him and glared at her, then he got up and went inside. Keira just shuddered and took the bow and arrows and the sword and went inside herself.

They continued on walking until everyone was dropped off at their house, only Cornelia was left and once she got home she entered quietly in case her mother was asleep but fortunately she wasn't. She entered the living room to find Lillian watching '_Barbie and Swan Lake',_ while she trying to act like Barbie herself but was always falling down on the sofa. Her mother was in the kitchen doing the dishes. "Mom, I'm home." She took off her coat and then went into the kitchen and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Hi, thanks for watching Lillian until I came back from work." She said while she dried her hands in a tea towel.

"It's ok." saw that Cornelia was a bit sad but she didn't know why so she asked her. In return Cornelia said, "Well, I broke up with Caleb." Her mother was shocked at this but didn't say a word until Lillian came running into the kitchen, her pink tutu jumping up and down with every step she took.

"What do mean you broke up with Caleb?" Lillian asked, over the past few months she grew fond of him and liked having him around.

"It's complicated, Lillian. You're too young to understand." Cornelia said, remembering the previous week and how she felt.

"But he will come by and see me right?"

"Sure." Cornelia said, "I'm going to take a bath. Good night." She made her way to her room and got her PJs out of the drawer. Then she went into the bathroom and took the most refreshing baths she'd ever took. After she was washed and dried she noticed that where she was hit was turning violety-blue. She put on some cream on it and then put on her shirt on. Then she went to her room and slept a dreamless slumber.

**End of Chapter 2:**

**Ok, guys. Its ready tell me what you think and by the way, in the coming chapter you'll find out why Cornelia was feeling dizzy and why she was feeling sick. Until then leave me a review or two. --xKrissyx--**


	3. Chapter 3

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**Hey, I'm back. Did ya miss me? Anyway I know chapter 2 was a bit crappy but I had a big writers block so there it was hehe. I'm sorry for the late update but I had a lot on my mind lately. Anyway, this is chapter 3 and I hope you guys like it.**

**Chapter 3:**

The following morning Cornelia woke up early as usual, at 7:30am, in order to get ready for school. Even though she got a full night's rest she still felt tired, but she couldn't risk skipping school anymore since she'd skipped school for over a week. So she got up from bed and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. Thank God it was Friday! She just couldn't take another day of school. She got dressed in her usual pink clothes and then went to the kitchen to find her mother having a cup of coffee while Lillian was having her cereal.

"Good Morning." Cornelia said as she took out a carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured it into a glass and sipped it bit by bit.

"Good Morning, honey." said, "Are you hungry? I made you some toast."

"No, I'm not hungry." Cornelia drained her glass of orange juice and then looked at the clock just above her head. It was almost 8:00am. "Oh, damn it. I'm gonna be late for school. Bye, see you later mom." She grabbed her back-pack and stuffed her History books inside it.

"I can drive you to school if you want." said.

"No, it's fine. Besides, that will make _you_ late." Cornelia swung the bag around her shoulders, gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and ran out of the house. She reached the bus stop just in time because it was just taking off, she grabbed the handle and climbed on. She found a seat in the back and sat there. It wasn't like her to sit in the back but today she just wanted to sit there for no particular reason and that was good enough for her. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and just stared out the window. After a few stops, Keira got on the bus and sat just beside Cornelia.

Keira saw that Cornelia was staring into space but she didn't ask her anything, maybe she was just thinking about something or maybe something was wrong. Keira pushed the thought to the back of her head because if there _was_ something wrong Cornelia would tell her what was bothering her.

"Hey, how's your hand doing?" Keira said, "And your stomach?"

"My hand's doing fine but my stomach hurts now and then." Cornelia said, "No wonder all the guys Will battled back in Meridian never got back up. She probably electrocuted them on the spot." At this comment, Keira burst out laughing which made Cornelia laugh a bit too. After a few minutes the bus was done picking up kids and soon they were at Sheffield Institute where they meet Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin. They were at their usual spot talking and making plans for the weekend.

"Hey, guys." Keira sat beside Irma while Cornelia sat beside Will.

"Hey." They all said.

"How are you doing?" Will asked Cornelia. She was sorry for blasting Cornelia into a barrel and hurting her in the process and for that she was feeling pretty crummy today.

"Fine, but I do have a bit of bruises here and there." Cornelia showed them what she meant and they all gasped at the huge bruise she had on her stomach and on her rib-cage.

"Oh, my God, Cornelia! I'm sorry. Are you ok?" Will said as she covered her mouth with her hand. Cornelia laughed at how she was reacting. She already said that she was sorry the previous day and now she was apologizing again which was a bit funny at the moment.

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault, I should've been faster than I was. This teaches me that I need to react faster to on coming objects. And you already asked me if I'm alright." Just then the bell rang signaling the Sheffield students that another day of learning was about to begin or another day of boredom for most of the students. They got up from the ground and entered the school just like the other students were doing. Irma, Keira and Cornelia went to their lockers, which were situated next to each other, and got out their History notes and textbooks while the others made their way to their individual classes. The first lesson of the day for Irma, Keira and Cornelia was History with while Will and Hay Lin had Math whilst Taranee had Biology, her most favorite subject.

They made their way to class and once they entered they found three desks right next to each other. Keira took the middle one, Irma took the one to Keira's right while Cornelia was left with the last one making her sit right next to Josh. Her least favorite person. "Why do I have to sit next to him? He's your brother Keira, you should sit here." Cornelia told Keira.

Over the past few months the Harts had lived in Heatherfield, Cornelia hadn't quite kicked it off with Josh. In less then a week of living in Heatherfield he'd tried to dye Cornelia's hair pink, poured paint all over her while she was helping Keira and Josh paint Caleb's room, filled her locker with green slimy goo at school and for April Fool's he'd hit her with numerous pies on her way home which made her grab him by the ankle with one of her vines and toss him to the other side of the road. He was just so annoying and Cornelia had no idea why he was doing all this. And for what he did to her, Cornelia hated and despised him. Every time she thought about it she always ended up wondering why he hated her so much and yet she never did anything to him. But she never could get to the conclusion so she always gave up on it.

"Please trade seats with me." She pleaded.

"Isn't it enough I live with him? I don't want to sit next to him at school too." Keira said, "Enjoy." She smiled evilly and opened her textbook. Irma just shrugged and resumed drawing on her dairy.

"I hate you guys." Cornelia said, but they knew she was joking. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and slid further down in her seat. As soon as the last person sat down, entered the room holding a bunch of papers in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

"Now, class. We'll begin the day with our pop quiz. I hope you guys studied because it's a tough one." He said, he began handing out the papers.

"Oh my gosh! It's the Friday pop quiz. I was caught totally off guard." Irma said sarcastically which made Cornelia and Keira burst out laughing. "Did you guys know we have a pop quiz every Friday? 'Cause I sure didn't what a surprise." She continued. Just then, came by Irma's table and said;

"Better get started Miss Lair. You don't want to fail again." He put a paper in front of her and then added, "Or won't _that_ be a surprise." At this comment she stopped laughing and began filling in the test. After they did the pop quiz they discussed how Christopher Columbus first discovered America and just when the last couple of students were dozing off, the bell rang ending the lesson.

"Don't forget to write a 4 page report on the founder of our country himself. Class dismissed." He then wipped the blackboard clean of chalk and got ready for his next lesson.

Keira, Irma and Cornelia were the first ones out of the room and then went to the locker to put the unnecessary books where they belonged. Cornelia took out _Romeo and Juliet_ out of the locker along with her English notes.

"What do you guys have next?" she asked as she closed it.

"French." they both said, "You?"

"English." Cornelia said, "I get to do Shakespeare. Yay!" she said sarcastically. They closed the locker door and then went on their separate ways. The rest of the morning went by slowly and by the third lesson the gang was already bored out of their wits, until it was time for lunch. Cornelia entered the cafeteria and went to get herself a tray. She then went in line and got herself a ham and cheese sandwich and a bottle of strawberry milk. She scanned the cafeteria for the others and finally found them at their usual table. Just as soon as she sat down Keira came running into the cafeteria holding a flyer in her hands.

"Hey, guys." She took a seat next to Irma and sat the piece of paper down.

"Hey, what's that you got there?" asked Taranee as she took a bite out of the apple she was holding.

"It's a flyer. For volunteer work at the Franklin Gibbs Memorial Hospital. Just think how many people we'd be helping if we volunteer. We'll might even save a life or two." Keira said, excited as hell.

"I've never heard anyone say that just by doing voluntary work you could save a life." Hay Lin said as she played with her mashed-potato. "As much as I'd like to help I have to work at the Silver Dragon this weekend. Sorry, but I can't."

"How 'bout you, Taranee? You're always saying that we should give something back to the community." Keira asked.

"I don't like Hospitals. They always smell like soap and old people." She arranged her spectacles and threw the left over apple in the bin. "Besides, my mom's taking me shopping this weekend for a new laptop hard-drive."

"Ok, Will?"

"I have a study-date with Matt this weekend and I'm not going to miss _that_ chance to be with Matt." Will said dreamily, "Sorry, I need to learn algebra or else I'll fail Math." She smiled and continued eating.

"Or Biology." Irma said to Hay Lin who stifled a giggle.

"Cornelia?"

"Uh…I have to baby-sit Lillian." She shoved the tray away from her and then took a sip of her strawberry milk.

"I'll volunteer, Keira." Irma said, "If it'll get me out of cleaning the garage, I'll do anything. Besides, I like helping others."

"Yay! Meet me after school so we can get an application from the Hospital." Keira said, happy that at least one of her friends volunteered with her.

"Ok." Just then the bell rang and the students all went to their separate classes. The rest of the day went by slowly for Irma and Keira and when the final bell rang they were glad that they had two days with no school. Irma was the first one out of class and then went to meet Keira in front of the school. She made her way past students, which were buzzing with all the weekend planning. Finally, she was out! It was like a maze in there. She looked at the school grounds for Keira until she came up the steps.

"Hey, finally got out huh?" she teased and made her way down again.

"God, I think it's roomier in a can of tightly packed sardines!" Irma exclaimed. Keira laughed and took a sharp turn around a corner. "Did you call the Hospital to see if they have any openings?" Irma asked.

"Yep, the receptionist said that they were really short on volunteers and they could really use all the help they could get." Keira said, "How can people turn down offers in order to help people? I mean, I like helping others, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do like helping people. That's why I always liked being a Guardian of the Veil. It's amazing, you always find people who need help in the world even in other dimensions." Irma said, being a Guardian had a lot of perks but helping others was probably the best thing about it. After a few minutes of walking they arrived at the Hospital, a big plaque greeted the girls which read _'In Memory of Franklin Gibbs. Dedicated doctor and Scientist who died of toxic gas while in the laboratory.'_

The girls had no idea who this Franklin Gibbs was but the statue dedicated to him gave them the impression that he was very important. They went through the big glass double doors and made their way to the reception unit. A plump woman named sat at the desk answering the phone and writing appointments on a notebook that lay open beside her. The girls waited for a few seconds until she spoke.

"'Ello, lassies. How may I 'elp you?" she said in a rich Irish accent.

"Hi, we'd like to see some applications for the candy striper opening." Keira said as she leaned over the desk in order to get a closer look.

"Well, aren't that great. Here you go. You can go and fill them applications at those tables. Okay?" She said as she handed them the applications. They thanked her and then went over to the tables that she pointed too.

"Doesn't you have a pen with you?" Irma joked around making Keira laugh and jab her in the ribs. She was trying to imitate but instead ended up making a terrible impersonation.

"Shh, she can still hear us." Keira said as she sat down on the tables and gave Irma a pen.

"Well, it made _you_ laugh." They filled in the application and then gave it back to who got up from her station and went to give them a tour of the place. She led them through the white corridors that made up the Hospital. Everything was so bright it was almost hurting their eyes.

"No' that many people like to volunteer for these kinds of jobs." She began, "I fer one like 'elping people. Don't you?"

"Yeah, totally." Keira said, it took a while to make out what she said exactly because her accent was pretty thick.

"It's awesome!" Irma said a bit after Keira.

"I think so too. This Hospital is pretty big and every little 'elps. So, now on to the left wing we have…" she gave them the tour, which took a while to decipher but they still managed, she told them they would be responsible for supplying the patients with nonmedical needs like liquid refreshment, supplying of books and magazines, handling the get-well-soon cards and gifts, taking care of the notions cart and delivering the meal to the patient. They would also be needed for other small tasks that they were assigned. Most of the time it was running some small errands, like showing people to their appointments or visits, or keeping some of the patients company. Most of the patients were really lonely especially the older patients and so they needed someone to talk to for a few hours of the day.

explained that a nurse didn't have time to keep someone company because nurses were always needed else where but a candy striper had much more time available. When the tour was over gave them a stack of Hospital books for them to read at home and then she gave them their uniforms which consisted of red and white stripped aprons. They put them on and waited for further instructions. She told them they would be on a flexible schedule and they were to work at the Hospital three times a week.

"Ok, that be all. You should start in the Maternity Ward." The plump woman said to Irma, "You should follow the signs. It be the best way for you to get familiarized with the corridors and such. And you can go and help that nurse over there." She pointed at a much skinnier nurse who was pushing an old man in a wheelchair. Then she turned around and went to the reception unit.

"I didn't know we'd have to read! I didn't sign up for this." Irma complained. They began walking towards the Hospital locker room where they could put their personal belongings that they didn't need. "We have to _read,_ Keira. _Books_ I mean. I hate reading."

"Oh c'mon Irma. It's just two books and besides, a little reading may even teach you something about being a candy striper. It can't possibly hurt." Keira said as she opened her locker.

"I guess you're right." She put the books inside her locker and then closed it. "Well, I've got to go to the Maternity Ward, see you in a few."

"Have fun!" Keira said. She made her way to the nurse pointed out, , and began helping by pushing the old man to his room while the nurse who was in charge of him went with a doctor in order to help.

"I guess it's just you and me." Keira said, mostly to herself.

"WHAT?" he yelled and apparently he was a bit deaf.

"Nothing." Keira said, yelling a bit louder than him so that he could hear her. She wheeled him into his room and motioned him in front of the window.

"There you go . I hope you like the view." She said.

"Hey, kid, do wanna hear a story about my Army days?" asked.

"Sure." She pulled a chair next to him and sat down.

"There we were, battling the Germans…" he began while waving his hands in the air as if they were airplanes and continued with his story which was pretty interesting for Keira since she knew a lot about strategies and how to use your enemy's weapon against him and stuff like that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Irma trudged behind who was the head Nurse in the Maternity Ward. She was a kind old lady, maybe in her early fifties, which reminded Irma of her own Grandmother which wasn't much older than .

"Do you know anything about babies?" she asked as she opened the door to the Maternity Ward.

"Um… they spit, eat and poop?" she said with a small smile.

"Ha-ha, they do that too but do you know how to hold a baby?" asked.

"Nope."

"Here, let me show you," beside them were about a dozen babies in incubators. bent down and held a baby in her arms and showed Irma what to do.

"Cool." Irma said once she put the baby gently back in the incubator, "What are you going to show me next?" For the first time that day, Irma was excited about being a Candy Striper and welcomed any challenge that she meet from that moment on. gave out a hearty chuckle and then showed Irma how to warm up a bottle in case a mother who wasn't breast-feeding couldn't warm up the milk herself. Her chores in the Maternity Ward were; to empty any garbage bags, putting the flowers that were for the Mothers in vases and supply the Mothers and their husbands with liquid refreshment.

She spent the remainder of the next two hours, helping the Mothers out with what they needed, filling vases with water, and throwing dirty diapers in the trash can. Finally, it was time for a break. Irma headed towards the Hospital cafeteria and on the way she met up with Keira. They went over to the coffee machine and fed their change into the slot; they both got themselves a cup of hot chocolate and then went to an empty table. Almost all of the other tables were filled with interns, attendings, doctors or visitors.

"How were the past few hours for you?" Irma asked as she took a sip and let out a content sigh.

"Well, I heard the most interesting story from an old man named . He told me about the second world war and how he fought bravely in it." She took a sip from her own cup of hot chocolate and continued, "We talked about old strategies and the kind of weapons he used although I've never seen one, used one or heard about any of them they sound cool! Did you know he was a General back in those days?"

"Really? My past few hours were spent by filling vases and emptying bags full of dirty diapers. It was disgusting. Although the babies were kinda cute." Irma finished, just as soon as she looked up from her hot chocolate she saw Cornelia walking in through the doors of the cafeteria and she wasn't alone. Oh, no she wasn't! A really handsome doctor was with her and he was talking to her. Irma could have sworn that he winked at Cornelia a couple of times.

"Oh, my God! Keira, I think I know who Cornelia's dating. And he's tall, dark and oh so handsome." Irma said, she was shocked to see Cornelia with another guy, shortly after the horrible break up she had with Caleb. Apparently she was over Caleb but he sure as hell wasn't. He was a wreck, but he didn't want anyone to know about it although Keira saw how he looked. Which was miserable and lonely.

Keira turned around to take a closer look and was as surprised as Irma was, because Keira knew the truth, the whole truth. And the truth was that Cornelia claimed she didn't cheat on Caleb and now here she was with this doctor. It was totally confusing, was Cornelia telling the truth or was she playing her like she played Caleb? And didn't she say that she was supposed to be baby-sitting Lillian? Was that a lie too? So many questions ran through Keira's mind and yet she didn't know an answer to any of them. Cornelia walked past them but she didn't notice that they were sitting the same cafeteria that she was in. She just went to a far away table and they sat there, having her back to them.

"What is she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be baby-sitting or something?" Irma said as she eye-balled Cornelia's back, then she turned around and took a big gulp of hot chocolate.

"You just read my mind." Keira looked at her cup of hot chocolate and stirred it quietly. "Maybe he's a friend of the family. Or maybe he's dating her mother. She has a life too you know."

"He's waaaay to young. He may be a family friend but he's winking all the time. Does a family friend wink at you?"

"I guess not. But I've seen him last week with Cornelia over at the drug store, I think. I didn't say anything because I thought that he was just a friend. He must be an intern or something. A doctor can't possibly be _that_ young."

"Oh, he's a friend alright, a _boy_friend." Irma said as she took another huge gulp and sat silently. They spent the next 10 minutes drinking their cups of hot chocolate in silence until told them that they needed to get back to work. Irma was assigned to the kids' section of the Hospital where they treated children who were sick with cancer and other diseases. Irma was assigned to that section of the Hospital so that she could read to them and play with them while Keira was assigned with handing out get-well-soon cards and gifts.

They went on their separate ways and Keira went over to the reception unit in order to get the Gift Cart. She walked side by side with .

"So, how do you like the 'Ospital so far?" she asked.

"It's awesome. I should've volunteered long ago." She said with a smile. The plump woman chuckled and once they were at the reception unit she handed Keira the Gift Cart. Keira wheeled it into the corridor giving the gifts and get-well-soon cards on the way through. 30 minutes later she was almost ready until Irma came up from behind her holding a beautiful bouquet of Lilies. _'Hmm… lilies. Cornelia's favorite.'_ Irma thought as she smelled the beautiful flowers.

"Hey! said that she forgot to put these in the cart and once she saw I was ready from my last assignment she asked me if I could give it to you." Irma said, smelling the flowers once again and smiling at the nice fragrance.

"Cool! This is my last stop. Room 108." Keira stopped pushing the cart and sat it at the side, "I hope they're not asleep. I hate waking up patients." Keira opened the door gently and let Irma in first since she had her hands full. Once they were in, Keira closed the door gently and then heard Irma let out a gasp which made her run to were she was standing. On the bed lay Cornelia, she had tubes running through her nose and an IV tube was attached to her arm supplying her with chemicals and liquids. She had dark smudges under her eyes and was pale white. She looked horrible, like she hadn't eaten or slept in days maybe both. She had her eyes closed and looked like she was asleep. Irma put the vase right next to the girl and then looked at her closely; she looked so fragile and under the fluorescent light Irma could even see the violet tracing of the veins at her temples. She laid very still, her chest barley moving when she breathed.

"I-is… is that Cornelia?" Irma asked, she had her hand over her mouth now looking pale herself. Keira looked at the chart that lay hanging in front of the bed which contained the patient's details. It read that it was _actually_ Cornelia Hale.

"Oh, my God! It _is_ Cornelia." Keira said, she sat down on a near by chair followed closely by Irma who looked like she was ready to throw up. Looking at your friend in a hospital bed with all kinds of wires and tubes coming out of her was a lot to take in, especially when they didn't even know what she was suffering from. Keira took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

"Keira, what does she have? Is she alright? Why is she so pale?" Irma asked, grabbing Keira by the shoulders.

"I-I don't know." She looked at Irma and for the first time ever since she first met the bubbly teenage girl, she saw that she was scared and terrified. "I don't know." Irma released Keira from her grip and looked at Cornelia. She was sleeping peacefully but Irma wasn't feeling so peaceful right now. She wanted to know what was wrong with her best-friend. They spent the next 30 minutes staring at Cornelia and praying that she'd wake up soon. They needed to ask her what was wrong. Their prayers were answered when Cornelia finally awoke. Irma was the first one up and shortly after her Keira arose from her chair.

"Cornelia! What's wrong with you?" Irma asked, "Are you ok?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick? We could've helped you. We still can." Keira asked.

She coughed and then spoke up, it was barley a whisper, "I have leukemia, guys." Cornelia's eyes filled with tears, she closed her eyes and a single tear trickled down her cheek. She swallowed hard a couple of times and then opened her eyes to find that they were both right next to her. Keira grabbed her hand and found that it was really cold.

"How come we didn't find out sooner? You look really sick." Keira said, "Now I can tell that you're sick just from one look but how come I couldn't see it yesterday?"

"That's the magic of make-up." Cornelia joked but she knew that this wasn't the time to joke around. Even the goof ball formally known as Irma knew that.

"This isn't funny Cornelia." Irma said in a stern voice.

"I know but after having leukemia for so long you learn that life is to short for you to be a sour puss like I've been in the past." Cornelia said. They both looked at the white sheets and sat in silence for a couple of seconds.

"H-how bad is it?" Irma asked, she was afraid of finding out and yet she wanted to know the real truth so badly.

"The doctor said that with treatment I could get better, but it's a one in a million chance."

"But there's still hope that counts for something. Why didn't you tell us sooner, Cornelia?" Keira said. Irma was now sitting on the bed listening carefully and holding tears.

"I didn't want Caleb to know. He's been through so much over the past few months, with Meridian under Phobos' reign, training the Rebels for on coming attacks even after we won the war against Phobos, I just couldn't tell him, I couldn't tell him that he could lose me." She took a deep, shuddering sigh. "I know that he doesn't love me anymore. He has every right not to love me for what I've done to him. He probably thinks I'm with some other guy, he must think that I'm over him but he doesn't know how much it hurts." She started crying and Keira and Irma both gave her a hug. "It all just hurts so much." They both let her sob on their shoulders for a while and once they pulled apart Irma said;

"This explains a lot. So, the guy we saw you with in the cafeteria was your doctor not your new boyfriend." She nodded. "But why does he keep winking at you?"

"He has something wrong with his eyes. I don't know."

Keira ignored Irma's comment and continued "So he's the same guy I saw you with at the drug store." She nodded again, "Then that's why you were feeling so tired at school and that's why you wiped out back at the Warehouse." She nodded again and then took a deep, shaky breath.

"Cornelia, you have no idea how madly in love Caleb is with you. He's been a nervous wreck for the past few weeks just because he can't see you. You mean the world to him. You're wrong Cornelia; he would want to know, he can help you get through this. We all can." Keira said.

"Keira's right, you can't go through this by yourself. It's just… inhuman." Irma said. "It's insane."

"You're wrong, it's better this way. If he knows the truth it will devastate him even more."

"So, it's better for him to think that you cheated on him? He thinks that he isn't worth anyone's time. He keeps saying he doesn't deserve anyone. He's heartbroken and he keeps saying that he's worthless. It pains me to see my older brother in pain like that." Keira said, she was getting all angry and she didn't know why it wasn't her place to judge Cornelia's actions. She wasn't the one with cancer so she didn't know what Cornelia was feeling. "I feel like crap because of that. I feel like crap because I can't tell him that you didn't cheat on him but he doesn't have a clue. He's probably in his room staring at _your_ picture."

"It's better this way." Cornelia repeated, she understood Keira's point but if Caleb knew the real truth it would surly devastate him and Cornelia didn't want that on her conscience. "Promise me that you won't tell him. Promise me that you won't tell anyone."

It took Irma a while to decide but then she said, "Ok, I promise. But let us help you through it."

"Ok, thank you." She gave Irma a weak smile and then waited for Keira's answer. After a few seconds she said;

"Ok I'll do it but only because you're like a sister to me not because I agree with you. I defiantly won't agree with a plan as dumb as that, no offense."

"None taken." Just then entered the room and said;

"Lassies, you need to be gettin' home. It's already 8:30pm." They said their goodbyes and then she ushered them out the door. They made their way to the locker room and once inside, they opened their lockers and took their belongings from inside it. They closed the locker door and then took off their uniforms, they did this all in silence. It was all too awkward for them. They exited the Hospital and then began their long walk towards home.

**End of Chapter 3**

**So, what do you think? Do you like it? I know it's the loooooongest chapter I've updated but I just couldn't bring myself to separate it into 2. Oh let me tell you about the type of leukemia Cornelia has; it's called '****Chronic lymphocytic leukemia' or CLL it occurs in**** teenagers and in other age groups. The patient usually feels sick, suffer from vomiting and they experience nausea and headaches. It is usually linked through family history and in Cornelia's case her father died from leukemia****.**

**Anyway, that's Cornelia's case of leukemia and I hope that you leave me a review or two. By the way, I know I did a crappy job with the accent but I just like the way the Irish talk. :-) --xKrissyx--**


	4. Chapter 4

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**Hey, I'm back. Did you like the last chapter? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I hope that you like reading it. I'm sorry for the late update but I just started a new school and at the end of the day I come home really tired. So anyway, this is chapter 4 and I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 4:**

**Keira's P.O.V:**

Keira opened the door to her house and found that both her brothers were watching wrestling on television, well Josh was anyway; Caleb was just staring into space. She closed the door and hung her house-keys. She was still in shock from the news Cornelia had given them to care why her brother Josh was screaming and yelling at the television screen like a maniac. Apparently, he likes yelling at the television screen for no apparent reason. Keira felt sick to her stomach but she knew that it was still the effect of the shock that she was in. It was just so over whelming.

Never in a million years would she have thought that one of her best-friends would be sick, especially with an illness as harsh as leukemia. She took off her jacket, practicly tore it off of her body, hung it on the coat rack and sat her back-pack on the ground. She still held the Hospital books had given her but she wasn't in the mood for reading so she sat them down on the counter and went into the living room. Once she was inside, she sat in her favorite armchair and automatically started munching on some chips.

She was feeling kind of weird by keeping a secret from her brother which contained information on the real reason Cornelia broke up with him. She wanted to tell him so badly but she promised Cornelia that she wouldn't tell a soul about her illness. But the question remained as to why Cornelia really didn't tell the gang about her illness in the first place. Why did she wait until one of them found out? Maybe she thought that once they knew they'd treat her differently or maybe she thought that they would go easy on her at power practice if they knew the real truth. Who knew? Keira sure as hell didn't know the answer to any of those questions. Just then, Josh yelled, elbowed Caleb in the ribs and pointed to the television screen completely destroying Keira's train of thought. Apparently, someone who was fighting won the match.

"Hah, I told you Kane would win this match. The Hurricane is no match for him." He said with a smile. Keira looked at Caleb and saw that he was bored to death, just like she was.

"Yeah, whatever. You were right." He mumbled, he wasn't looking at the television screen so he didn't know who beat who but he didn't care.

Josh looked at Keira and mouthed, 'What's up with him?' She just shrugged and continued munching on the salty chips she liked so much.

"Caleb, can I ask you a question?" Josh said as politely as he could, Caleb didn't utter a word but Josh still continued. "Ookaay. I'll take that as a yes." He cleared his throat loudly and said, "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting like this for the past few weeks. All sad and moody. So what if Cornelia dumped you? And so what if she cheated on you? She did it and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Said the one who experienced it first hand." Keira said before popping a huge chip into her mouth. Josh ignored her comment and continued to 'lecture' his brother.

"Yes, she did cheat on you, but your life doesn't have to stop there. She probably would have done it sooner or later so in my opinion, its better she broke up with you now. You'll be more available. But my point is, you're still young and there still are other fish in the sea. There's still time. So get over this… break-up or whatever you want to call it and get your ass off that couch and go out and have some fun. "

Keira was furious at what he just said. Why in the world did he hate Cornelia so much? She never did anything to him. If he knew that she was lying in a Hospital bed with an IV tube tapped to her arm he would take back all the cruel things he ever said about her, he'd take back all the cruel things he'd ever said _to_ her and he'd wish he'd never done any of those horrible things that had hurt her feelings over and over again. She felt her blood boil and got up.

"I should beat you into a pulp for what you've just said. Cornelia would _never_ cheat on Caleb. I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it Josh, it's not like you ever cared if Caleb was with Cornelia or any other girl and it's not like you ever dated her. If you knew the real truth, you'd understand why she did what she did." She was yelling at Josh, her finger barley an inch away from his face.

Even though Josh was older than her by 2 minutes, he usually acted like an immature brat. Most of the time Keira always spoke like she was older than she looked and she always acted like she was older than she looked too. It just made her so mad to hear her brother talk so badly about one of her best-friends. She took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know how we both can be related, Josh, we are so different and yet you're my twin brother." She turned around and stormed out of the room. She grabbed her Hospital books on the way out and then stomped up the stairs leaving a bewildered Josh staring at her figure. He was surprised at his sister's outburst. It wasn't like her to threaten him. What had gotten into her? He blinked a couple of times and then said;

"I need a glass of milk." He got up and went into the kitchen. He poured a glass for himself and once he drained it he poured one for his brother. "I was thinkin', you should go to this party my friend James is having he's Hayley's older brother. Plus, you can forget about Cornelia for a night and just be normal again. Huh? What do you say?" he said, totally forgetting his sister's early outburst.

"Look, Josh, thanks but no thanks. I'm not in the mood for a party right now." He said, "I think I'll pass."

"Oh c'mon, Caleb, it'll be fun. Besides, Hayley will be there. I told her you'd be there too. You'll hurt her feelings if you don't come." Josh said with a big smile spread across his face.

"Hayley Parker, huh?" Caleb shot him a wise look. "I think I know where this is going. You're trying to set me up with her again, aren't you? Well, you can forget it I don't want some snooty brat clinging to my shoulder all night." Whenever Caleb or Cornelia had a fight Josh would always swoop in and take the opportunity to get Caleb with Hayley Parker. Her parents were filthy rich and she always wore designer clothes like Gucci or Prada which always cost a fortune. But she didn't care, as long as she got what she wanted she was always happy which was most of the time. Hayley was Josh's best-friend and he always thought she would be better off with Caleb. But the problem was that Caleb hated her and he couldn't stand the sight of her.

"She is NOT a snooty brat and she's really nice and sweet once you get to know her."

"Then if she's so 'nice' and 'sweet' then why don't _you_ date her?" Caleb yelled.

"Because I don't like her like that. Shish, I was just trying to do you a favour. I know you feel like crap after a harsh break up like that. God knows I did when I found out Christa cheated on me. I just thought a party might cheer you up."

Caleb's gaze softened, "Thanks, Josh, it was a nice thought, but I don't think anything can cheer me up right now." He turned back to stare at the television screen. There was a commercial on new computer software but Caleb didn't seem too interested. The problem was that he just couldn't get the image of Cornelia's beautiful and angelic face out of his mind. Trying to forget about her was turning out to be an impossible mission. How could he forget about the girl he fell in love with? Right now, he felt as heartsick about the whole thing as he had felt the night of the break-up.

But Josh wasn't giving up that easily. One way or another, Caleb was going to forget about Cornelia even if it was the last thing he'd do. He was determined.

"C'mon, don't be so damn stubborn. If you're not having fun you could always leave. At least you'll get out and have some fun." Josh said sincerely. "Please, it would mean so much to Hayley."

"I see we're back on this Hayley business." Caleb said, praying that his brother would give up on this whole plan he had. But unfortunately for him, his brother wasn't giving up that easily. Josh was as stubborn as he was.

"What's wrong with Hayley? She's smart, funny, cute I mean, what else would a guy want?" Josh was counting the benefits Hayley had on his hand but Caleb didn't care if she was funny or cute. The only girl he thought was cute, funny and smart was Cornelia.

"How about love? I need to love the girl in order for me to be with her." Caleb said, thinking only of Cornelia.

"Well, if you go out with her maybe you'll like her and hopefully it'll turn out to be love." Caleb just let out a humorless laugh which made Josh want to slap him in the back of the head. "Honestly Caleb, if people saw the way you're acting when I mention her name they'd think she had four eyes and had tentacles for arms. In case you haven't noticed she is extremely good-looking and quite talented."

"So you keep saying. Look, if she's so good-looking and quite talented then she has no trouble getting dates on her own accord." Caleb took a sip of the milk his brother had given him and continued 'watching' television. "She doesn't need my help."

Josh, yet again, resisted the urge to smack his brother in the back of the head but instead he took a different approach. "I'll bet Cornelia isn't going to be lying around in bed tonight. She's probably out in a club right now, dancing her pretty ass off with her new boyfriend. Or maybe he took her out for dinner in a nice restaurant and then he would take her to a movie or something like that." He circled the sofa with a huge grin spread across his face. He was sure his brother would take the bait. And he was right because at the mention of Cornelia's name he furiously turned the television off and spun around to face Josh.

"How come all of a sudden you know so much about Cornelia? You're no expert on knowing her favorite places to go to on a Friday night." Caleb said. At the image of Cornelia in another guy's arms, he felt his blood boil.

"No, I'm not an expert but I still hear things at school. You know how they love to gossip." He yawned pretending to be tired.

"Oh, yeah? Gossip on what?"

"Well, just yesterday Hayley heard a bunch of jocks say that Cornelia's been skipping school and she's been cutting classes." He sat beside his Caleb. He frowned at what Josh just said and held the remote control tightly in his grasp.

"That doesn't sound like Cornelia, she's always been an A student and she wouldn't skip classes for no reason."

"People change. She probably got fed up and decided she needed a break." Josh shrugged. It took a while for Caleb to respond but after a couple of minutes of silence he said;

"What else did she say?"

Josh smiled triumphantly, his plan had worked, Caleb had taken the bait and now he was just like a hooked fish. He was almost in his grasp- he smiled once again. Now Caleb would go to the party and he'd dance the night away with Hayley. _'This plan is brilliant!'_ he mused.

"How should I know? I'm not the freakin' FBI." He said casually, "But if you're really interested you should ask Hayley yourself."

"If anyone said you're _not_ the FBI they'd be surely mistaken only in your case it stands for 'Forever Butting In'" He got up from the couch and drank the last of his milk. "What time did you say the party was?"

"Nine-thirty. And don't worry Caleb you won't regret this." He ran up the stairs and in the middle of the staircase he stopped. "You'll have a blast."

"I somehow don't believe you. I just hope you're right 'cause if I don't _you'll_ regret this." He said playfully. Although he didn't mean the last part, something inside him knew he wasn't going to have fun.

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Keira sat alone in her room trying to read the Hospital literature she was assigned to read but she wasn't concentrating. Her thoughts kept going back on what Josh had said. Was Cornelia really capable of cheating on Caleb? She couldn't possibly do it. She told them so herself. Keira sat the books beside her legs and let out a sigh. Her best-friend lay in a Hospital bed just a few minutes away from her house and she couldn't do a thing about it. She had battled dozens of medieval monsters, helped bring down Phobos, mastered the art of the bow and arrow in less then a month and yet she still couldn't bring herself to convince Cornelia to tell Caleb the truth. If there only was some way of convincing Cornelia what a terrible mistake she was making by not telling Caleb. The look in her eyes was something not to be argued with. She seemed so sure that what she was doing was the right thing, even though it was causing her more pain (physically _and _emotionally). She was determined, brave and yet she was sad. No one could blame her. Having to face leukemia and still have to go to school was something incredible.

Keira got up from the bed and went to sit on the window ledge. Her favorite spot in Heatherfield. There she could have some peace and quite and enjoy the spectacular view. Once she sat down she heard a knock on the door and it swung open to reveal Josh.

"Knock, knock." He said softly.

"Hey." Josh entered the room and sat beside his sister. They spent a few seconds in silence until Josh cleared his throat.

"Nice view, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." Keira sighed deeply and continued staring at the view.

"If I knew you have this spectacular view I would've called dibs on it when we first moved in." he said trying to make her laugh, it worked and he laughed a bit too. "Uh… Keira? About earlier. Can you tell me what I did wrong?" he said calmly, barley looking at her. "You kinda went psycho on me back there."

"You just made me so angry, Josh. You keep calling Cornelia a slut, a bitch and a whore and yet she did nothing to offend you. She didn't do a damn thing to you, Josh. So why do you treat her like dirt? She helped save our home; she helped free the innocent people of Meridian from Phobos' dungeons and she never hurt you or Caleb." She said it calmly but her voice was cracking with anger and rage. "Hell, she loved Caleb, she still does."

It took him a couple of seconds to respond but after a few deep breaths he said, "I don't hate her. I just… I don't know why I pick on her I just like doing it. The things I do are all just jokes, nothing more," Keira gave him an odd look and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Josh always hated the odd looks his sister gave him, she always managed to get him to spill everything the moment she looked at him. "What?! Don't look at me like that. So, I like picking on her a little so what? It's not like I committed a crime or anything."

"Oh c'mon, Josh. The way you joke with her, isn't just joking around. The way I joke around is pretty different from the way _you_ joke around. You almost dye her hair pink, you poured paint all over her, filled her locker with mudsluggin goo and you threw pies at her as an April's fool joke. I think trying to dye her hair pink is not a joke somebody got a laugh out of except for you, which in my opinion, is kinda pathetic. No one picks on other people for their own personal pleasure. Except the people that _do_, apologies afterwards." She said calmly.

"Well, Phobos did it." He said defensely.

"Seriously? You're comparing yourself to Phobos? He was a loon, Josh. You're not." She sighed.

"You're right. Sorry."

"Just try not to pick on her a lot. Maybe once in a while pull some stupid prank of yours but nothing that can humiliate her. It's just not funny anymore."

"Ok, fine. But only if you don't try to beat me into a pulp. I didn't like the way you threatened me earlier." Josh said.

"Ha-ha. You knew I was serious and you know that I can beat you anytime, any day." She said playfully.

"Not in a million years." He punched her in the arm playfully.

"Yeah, you better laugh." She giggled, "Thanks."

"For what? If you're talking about the pranks and jokes I think I can level it from all the time to 3 to 4 times a day." She looked at him and sternly said;

"If you do, I'll pull pranks on you every single second of the day. And I assure you, you won't get any sleep during the night either."

"Ok, ok I'll level it from 1 to 2 times a _month._ Happy? I'll even try to be nice to her if you like." He said sincerely. If he would be lying Keira would know the second he would have said it because as twins they could read each others auras. It was kind of confusing for others to understand but it was pretty common for those who were twins. They sometimes finished each other's sentences which was kind of creepy for other people but for them it was normal.

"Good." she leaned in and gave him a hug, "Thanks." Once they pulled apart Josh put his hand on her forehead and opened her mouth. "Josh, what are you doing?" she asked as best she could with her mouth open.

"I'm just checking if you're alright. I think you're sick." He closed her mouth and let out a chuckle. "You're never nice to me and you never give me hugs. Not since we moved to Heatherfield. Before, when we lived in Meridian, we used to hang out more and we were much nicer to each other."

"Yeah, I've noticed that." She knew right away that he was a bit sad about it and he also knew how she felt which was just like he was but only a bit worse. "Hey, how about this weekend we go visit mom and dad? We haven't been to Meridian in like, ages."

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Josh smiled and leaned backwards to lean against the wall, "I love being your twin brother. I hope you feel the same way."

"Well, duh. Of course I do. You're my older brother, how would I _not_ like having you around?" Keira smiled and gave him another hug. Once they pulled apart Josh stepped down from the ledge and went to the door.

"Well, I've got to go. There's a party Hayley's having, you should come. It could be fun." He was trying to tempt her into coming but there was no chance of that happening anytime soon because she hated Hayley Parker. She was head cheerleader and she always made other people feel like they were crap when she walked into the room.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here. I have some studying I need to catch up on." Keira pointed to the open books. "Try not to stay out too late."

"I'll try." He turned around and closed the door behind him leaving Keira alone once again.

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Caleb put on his leather jacket and waited for Josh to put on his skate-shoes. "Is Keira coming?"

"No, she has some studying to catch up on." Josh said as she laced his left shoe.

"Oh ok." Caleb really wanted Keira to come since he didn't know anyone at this party. At least if she was coming he wouldn't have to feel like a fish out of water.

"Done." Together they entered Caleb's silver porshe and speed through the streets to James' party. Caleb turned on the stereo to calm his nerves. He popped a CD inside and waited for it to play. _'Chasing Cars'_ by Snow Patrol played and from the first note Josh cringed his nose in disgust.

"Don't you have any decent music? This is all whack." He grabbed his IPod and popped it into the socket. After a few seconds _'In the Ayer'_ by Flo Rida began to play. "Now that's more like it. _Oh hot damn, this is my jam, keep me partyin' till the a.m."_ Josh sang.

"Who the heck is this guy? He sounds like a bag of strangled cats." Caleb said as he stopped at a red light.

"That's Flo Rida, the best rap artist there is." He kept singing to himself while he moved a little in his seat. As soon as the light turned green Caleb decided to give Josh a little scare, he pressed the gas pedal as far as it could go until Josh held tight to the dashboard and stopped his dreaded singing.

"Did anyone tell you, you drive dangerously?" He closed his eyes and braced himself for the road bump straight ahead.

"A few people actually mentioned it." After a few more seconds of crazy driving Caleb found a parking space and drifted into space. Josh was the first one to open the car-door, looking pale white as he emerged from the silver bullet. People looked in their direction to see who was driving so recklessly. Caleb took off his seat-belt and got out of the car making sure he locked it behind him. Several girls started batting their eye lashes at him while making sure to smile at the handsome young devil that just emerged from the expensive car.

"Hey." Caleb said politely, flashing his dazzling smile that made half the girls blush insanely. Josh had regained consciousness and was now looking better than ever.

"Dude! You're a total chick magnet!" he said. "You should get out more often." Caleb ignored him and made his way to the front door. Josh opened the door and stepped inside getting a look at the party that was making way too much noise the neighbors could take. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling, a huge table was in the middle of the room offering the guests food and drink, and the DJ's equipment was set up in a corner having two large speakers at each side. James was in the middle of the equipment playing a song that made the people get up and dance.

As soon as Caleb walked inside he was immediately greeted by Hayley. _'Oh great here comes the welcoming committee.' _he thought. She was wearing a black and white halter-neck with printed pink flowers across the middle. _'Probably Gucci.'_ he thought. Her long golden hair was made into low curls that flew naturally behind her as she walked.

"Hi Josh! Hi Caleb! I'm really glad you could make it." She clung to his arm and led him away from Josh. 'Help me!' he mouthed. Josh just gave him a thumbs-up and went on his own way to chase some girl that was probably not interested. Hayley led him onto the living room sofa. In her hands she had two cups filled with_ Pineapple Malibu_, she handed one to Caleb and then sat beside him.

"I'm glad you came, Caleb." She took a sip from her drink and crossed her legs inching ever so closer to him. She was so close, she could smell his aftershave.

"Yeah, me too." He took a long swing from his own drink and then sat it on the coffee table in front of him. From the moment he saw Hayley, Caleb knew it was a mistake for coming. He never should have let Josh talk him into coming in the first place, he only agreed to the idea because if he'd stayed home it would be just like any other night he'd had for the past few weeks. And that feeling of being alone was unbearable, a feeling to control the urge to run to the nearest phone and call Cornelia was something that he couldn't handle anymore. Which was kind of ridiculous in the first place. It would be weird phoning your ex-girlfriend just to see how she was doing or to see if she was dating someone else, which he had no intention of doing, after the way she broke up with him.

Anger pounded in his temples, and he could feel his face grow red hot at the thought of Cornelia with someone else. He'd spent the entire week trying to make himself hate her, but it was no good. Each time he picture her he'd make himself fall even deeper in love with her. Which was crazy, he knew that but he just couldn't help himself. He'd make himself want to hold her in his arms and never let go, making her safe and protected. _'But she doesn't want _my _love or protection.' _He thought. She had told him so herself, well she didn't say anything but by the way she was acting she might as well had told him.

Yet the way she'd looked at him that night was strange, something that made his heart ache at the memory. As if what she was saying had hurt her more than it was hurting him. He knew he was probably just imagining it because he wanted so much for it to be true, a part of him still couldn't believe she could end it like that. _'You can't stop loving someone just like the way you turn off a switch.'_ He thought. Lately he'd been remembering all the good times they'd had together. At first he'd be so angry at the thought of her but then he'd start remembering all the times she had made him laugh and his anger would melt away.

"So…seen any nice movies lately?" Hayley asked, trying to make some small talk.

"Um… I've seen _Overboard._" He said.

"That's ancient! My parents probably remember it." She said with a laugh.

"Heh-heh." He forcefully chuckled, "I hear you're head cheerleader." He said changing the subject.

"Yep, I'm the best there is." She began babbling along about team spirit which made Caleb want to gag. After a few minutes of talking about splits and somersaults she said, "I heard you and Cornelia broke up. That's too bad. Cornelia's a really nice girl." She didn't sound very sincere which made Caleb feel like he was talking to Cedric, his least favourite person in the world.

Caleb took another big swing from his drink and drained it in less than 4 seconds. "How well do you know Cornelia? I was just wondering because she never actually talked about you that much." The moment he said it he felt like a total ass. Why should he care if she was friends with Hayley? It's not like he'd feel any better if he knew if she was friends with her or not. It wasn't his business to know anything about her now, it was over between him and Cornelia.

"I don't really know her that well," Hayley admitted, "She doesn't really mix with us cheerleading type of girls. She isn't that into sports as we are."

"For your information, she Ice-Skates and she's a champion at that sport. She's won over a dozen gold medals and not one of them is a bronze medal." He yelled. Why was he defending her? It wasn't going to make a difference to him if Hayley judged her or not. It wasn't his place to protect her from the cruel things people say, not anymore. She looked at him oddly and took another sip of her drink. "I had to yell because the music is too loud." He lied.

"Oh, that's ok. Anyway, you don't have to worry about hurting her feelings anymore. Josh told me you got fed up with her and you decided to break it off but I guess Cornelia must have gotten over it real quickly."

"What? What do you mean?" He felt his mouth go dry and he suddenly felt his tongue was too big for his mouth.

"I heard she got a new boyfriend." She said a matter-of-factly, "I even saw her myself at the drug store with him. She had a big brown bag in her hands and he was real polite, he even opened the door for her." She took her sandals off and curled up beside him. "They must have bought a lot of stuff from the looks of it too, because the bag was pretty big."

Caleb felt himself go cold; _'I used to open doors for her, too.'_ He thought. "Oh, well it isn't any of my business what she does. We're not together anymore. She can date whoever she wants."

"Exactly what I told myself."

"She can see whomever she likes. I mean if she wants to hang with some creep in public, who am I to judge?"

"Same thing ran through my mind. Caleb, what's getting you so angry?" she said suspiciously.

"I'm not getting angry." He got up from the couch just as soon a bubbly song ended. "C'mon, let's dance. I feel like dancing tonight." Cornelia can do whatever she likes. _'She's not my girlfriend anymore.' _He thought, but that didn't lessen the anger he felt.

Hayley dreamily got up behind him, "Sure, Caleb, let's dance." As soon as they stepped on the dance-floor the DJ was heard saying;

"Now all you gentleman take that special lady and get ready for a slow dance." A soft and romantic song played but Caleb would give anything for him not to be there, not with Hayley in his arms. He stiffly placed his arms around her. With a content sigh, she snuggled even closer to his body. Caleb closed his eyes, imagining it was Cornelia he was holding. Cornelia's warm and fragile body pressed so closely against his. Cornelia's perfectly manicured fingertips dancing happily over the back of his neck into his shirt-

'_Stop doing this to yourself'_ he told himself, _'She doesn't want you back so it's no use trying to imagine her next to you.'_ Some other guy was probably holding her close to him right now, kissing her softly, maybe even telling her he loved her. All of a sudden Caleb placed his hands on Hayley's neck, he jerked his head forward slowly and kissed her perfectly lip-glossed lips. But inside, he felt nothing, just cold and bitter.

Hayley placed her arms around his neck and softly in his ear she murmured, "Oh, Caleb. This is going to be the best night of my life."

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It was nearly two in the morning and Caleb still hadn't come home. Josh flopped on Keira's bed and smiled happily. He had been home an hour now and since then he changed into a white t-shirt and pair of boxer shorts.

"Can you tell me why you un-invitingly made your way in my bedroom?" Keira said sleepily, she yawned and took the sheets off of her body. She was almost asleep when her brother came barging in completely waking her up.

"I've got some brilliant news!" He said, dodging the question. "Caleb and Hayley are together. He was all over her. He kissed her so hard she was both shocked and surprised."

"And that's brilliant news because…?"

"Because my plan worked! Hayley always wanted Caleb as her boyfriend." He turned on his side to look at his sister's expression.

"Yeah, right. Last month she wanted Riley James as her boyfriend, the month before she had Scott McGee as her boyfriend and three months ago she was fantasizing about the football jock, Chris Williams. Need I say more?"

"Well, ok. She didn't _always_ want Caleb as her boyfriend but she always had an eye for him." He said with a content sigh. "I don't think he'll be walking around looking like a zombie anymore. He's probably still dancing with her."

"Oh the joy." She said sarcastically. "Do you think he's serious about Hayley?"

"I hope so. He told me he wasn't coming home yet, I said it was cool and then my friend Lucas gave me a ride home."

"C'mon, Josh, he _can't_ possibly have meant it." Keira said. She brought her knees close to her chest, letting her hands rest on her shins.

"Of course he meant it. I had to hitch a ride with Lucas."

"No, I didn't mean the ride, stupid! I meant the kiss and the 'relationship'." Keira said annoyed at her brother's stupidness.

"Oh, I guess he is. I think." Josh sat up and started fumbling with the pillow cover.

"But Hayley's all wrong for him. She's pushy, stubborn and self-centered," she counted the disadvantages Hayley had on her fingers.

"Well, so are you but I still love you." He teased.

"This is not funny, Josh."

"But she's also cute, funny and smart. Besides she's a cheerleader. Don't you know how flexible cheerleaders are?"

"Sooo not the point plus that's disgusting. Who cares if she's a cheerleader? Being fun and loveable is what counts." Keira said, partly disgusted by her brother's dirty mind.

"Whatever, the point is my plan worked and me and Hayley are happy about it." He laid down on the bed and rested his head on the pillow he was holding. "You're just jealous Caleb listened to me for a change."

"Excuse me? I'm not jealous of anyone. I'm perfectly happy with the way my life is thank you very much. And who cares if he listened to you instead of me. I only talk to him about stuff that matters not to bring up hurtful memories of the past."

"Fine, whatever," he got up from the bed. "You know? You should try and get yourself a boyfriend. You probably get to be a bit happier than you already are."

"For your information, I do have someone that fancies me and next Saturday I happen to have a date with him." She said. It was true, but she never told her brother about her mystery man. He'd just start teasing her in public.

"Good, you'll get to boss _him_ around instead of bossing _me_ around all day." He started walking to the door.

"I'm not bossy and you should get out of my room if you don't want an arrow pinning you to the wall of your room."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of staying." He got out and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you come in here in the first place." That was probably the lamest come back of the century but you can't blame a girl for trying. Getting woken up in the middle of the night isn't something you'd want happening anytime soon. She laid back in her bed and tried to forget the fight she just had with her brother. After a few minutes she was fast asleep.

**End of Chapter 4**

**Finally, it's ready. So how'd you like it? I know it's long but I just didn't want to separate it into another chapter I think it's wrong to do that. Besides I didn't know where I could separate so there you have it, the longest chapter I've ever written. Anyway, tell me if you like the longness (new word xD) by sending me a review or two and I apologize once again for the late update. –xKrissyx-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**Hey, guys, sorry for not updating but I've been really busy lately with school and with all the assignments all the teachers have been giving me. So, if WitchTK could find it in her heart to forgive me it would really make my day. I know I told you I'd update Wednesday some weeks ago but I just lost track of time.**

**Uh, so anywho I just wanted to thank all you active readers for reviewing and all you non-active readers for just plain reading the story. It's really late over here right now so pardon me for any future mistakes this chapter may have. I hope you don't mind me writing in Keira's point of view I just thought she'd like a say in this since she's the one Cornelia revealed her secret too. I'll write in Cornelia's point of view too but that's just to let you know. Uh so, on with the story…**

**Chapter 5:**

Josh awoke early the following morning. He didn't usually wake up at 7.45am on a Saturday and it was hard for him to get out of bed. As soon as he opened his eyes he turned off his Mp4 player and took the head-phones out of his ears. He sleepily turned off the alarm clock and swung his legs over to the edge of the bed. His room was so messy, pack-rats could live with him and he wouldn't even notice. Packets of snacks littered the floor along with empty bottles of fizzy-cola and boxes of half eaten pizzas. His desk was filled with books, school assignments, half finished projects and magazines which he never read but kept only because he could.

He got out of bed and yawned all the way to the bathroom, making sure on the way he didn't trip and fall on the clothes that lay on the floor. If there were clean or not, Josh had no idea. Once he was inside he took of his clothes and took a cold shower to completely wake him up. The cool, refreshing water felt good on his warm skin, it sure woke him up. After a few minutes under the cool water, Josh stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around him. Once he was dried, he got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. He made his way down the stairs as quickly as he could, he was starving. At the thought of food his stomach gave a low grumble as if to agree to the idea of eating. Once down stairs, he smelled the air hungrily, taking a big whiff of freshly cooked eggs and bacon.

"Mmm… something smells good." He said, clapping his hands in front of his chest as he sat down. He smiled at Keira who was sitting just opposite of him. She ignored him and continued looking through a magazine that lay open in front of her.

Just then, Caleb came over with a plate piled with bacon and eggs. "Here Josh, enjoy." He handed the plate over to him and then went to eat his own bacon and eggs. Josh grabbed a fork and scooped up the eggs.

"Are you going to take something with you to Meridian, Keira?" He asked. "I think I'll take some chocolate bars with me. Mom really likes chocolate and Dad loves gummy bears."

"I'm not going to Meridian. Not with _you_ anyway." She turned the page roughly, almost tearing it out of the magazine.

"What?! Why not?"

"Because you don't get to call me lonely and miserable and just be all happy as pie about it in the morning." She said bitterly. Caleb just shrugged and continued eating his eggs quietly. After a couple dozen fights he got used to the name calling and yelling in the end they'd still make up.

"Oh c'mon! I didn't mean it." He finished his bacon and drank a bit of the orange juice that was set in front of him, "And I didn't call you 'lonely' _or_ 'miserable'. I just…"

"You just _implied_ that I'm lonely, miserable, and jealous. And let's not forget bossy, pushy, stubborn and self-centered." She furiously closed the magazine and threw it inside her bag. "So no, Josh, I'm not going to Meridian with you."

"Fine, do what you want. I'm tired of trying to convince you anyway. If I didn't know better I'd say you're embarrassed of hanging out with me but I don't have to say it 'cause I already know." He got up from the table, almost knocking the chair over and stormed over to the kitchen cupboard. "So, it's fine with me, do what you want. I'm through here." He grabbed a couple of chocolate bars and stuffed them in his back pocket. His parents absolutely loved chocolate so every time he visited he'd take a few chocolate bars with him.

"Josh, I'm s…" Keira began to say but she was cut off.

"Just save it. I don't wanna hear it." He stepped out the room and went down to the basement where a portal lay open for their own personal use.

"More bacon?" Caleb said as he offered Keira more helpings of bacon.

"Oh, damn it! I hate it when I act all bitchy." She rested her head on her hands and breathed in slowly.

"I'm not going to interfere _or_ take sides, but he did actually have a point." He said, "You really do change your mind often when it comes to your brother. He was really happy when he came down, and that was because he was going to spend some quality time with you, his only sister."

"Great, now I feel much better." she said sarcastically. "What do I do now?"

"Well, if I were you I'd go and apologize." he drank a bit of his coffee and continued. "Plus, give these gummy bears to Dad, Josh forgot to take them, again."

"Thanks." She took the gummy bears and gave her older brother a kiss on the cheek before she ran towards the basement. She stopped in her tracks when her brother called after her.

"Before you go, yesterday after you threatened Josh, you said that Cornelia would never cheat on me and yet she still did it. And then you said 'if we knew the real truth we'd understand'. What would we understand?"

"Um… nothing. I was too mad to think about what I was saying. Just forget about it." She lied.

"Oh ok. Send my regards to mom and Dad." With that she spun around and darted to the basement. She opened the basement door and a creepy creaking noise was heard coming from the door's hinges.

"This basement always gave me the creeps." Keira said, talking to no one in particular. She could barley see the illuminating light the portal was giving off so she flipped the switch bringing a dangling light-bulb to life, with the occasional zapping sounds. Once there was enough light she proceeded to the stairs, making sure she was careful not to trip and fall on the way down. It wouldn't be the first time she'd slipped and fell all the way down in the process of getting to the portal. When she was safely down, she made her way to the portal which gave the room a bluish colour. She went to the opposite wall and saw that her brother had took his axe. A wave of relief washed over her, it wouldn't be the first time her brother went to Meridian weaponless. She grabbed her bow and arrow but made sure she left her sword in its place on the wall because she felt it was fine to have only one weapon with her today. Keira made it a chore to always take a weapon with her to Meridian. It was set in the middle ages and it was legal to duel with an enemy of yours. Without a glance back, she plunged into the swirly blue liquid kind of substance, having the gummy bears safely in the back pocket of her jeans and the bow and arrows safely slung around her shoulders.

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For once, the sun managed to make its way through the stuffy green curtains that were hung in Cornelia's Hospital window. The light that managed to make its way through made shafts of sunlight fall dramatically through the open window onto the contents of Cornelia's room. The room wasn't much to look at but that didn't bother Cornelia, after being in this damned room for such a long time, Cornelia grew fond of it. A television screen was mounted on the wall just opposite Cornelia's bed were she could spend an hour or two watching old movies, a couple of old fashioned soap operas or just plain flipping through the channels just to pass the time. Beside the bed lay a lamp that was sat on a little bedside table where she could have a nice, relaxing read at night. **(To Brit?) **It was a nice Saturday morning but Cornelia wished she was outside the Hospital instead of inside it.

Sometimes she felt like a caged animal but other times she felt free as a bird. She had no idea why she felt so free because in the last week she only managed to stay out of the Hospital for just about a day or so and then she was back in here for more chemo and radiation. On the bright side she was getting better but on the down side, she felt her hair thinning. She got out of bed and decided she'd go for a walk, not that she could walk a long distance without feeling her lungs burn but she could still walk. It was getting a bit chilly outside so she put on her house-coat and tied the lace in a ribbon around her waist. Having her IV-tube in hand she walked out the door. '_Looks like I'm really getting better. Thanks dad'. _She thought. Every time she felt everything was going wrong she'd talk to a picture she had of her father and just like that, whatever hectic situation she was in would suddenly start calming down. She only wished it was that easy with Caleb. _'I wish I could have told you Caleb but if I did, it would only have complicated things more.' _At the thought of Caleb, she felt a lump grow in her throat and her eyes water. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. Just then Irma walked by holding a bunch of papers.

"Hey, Irma!" she called, "Wait up." Irma stopped and waited for Cornelia to catch up.

"Hurry up, slow-poke." She teased once Cornelia was close enough.

"Don't blame me, blame this chemo that's pumping through my veins." Cornelia joked. As soon as she said this comment, Irma's face dropped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up."

"It's ok. I don't mind making fun of it." Cornelia fumbled with her loose lace, "So, uh I was wondering… how's Caleb doing? I've been thinking of him a lot lately."

"Well, uh last I heard he had Hayley as a girlfriend but I don't know how much cheerleading crap he can take." Irma said as she saw Cornelia's eyes drop.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Cornelia said above a whisper.

"Listen, if it's bothering you that much, why don't you tell him what's going on? I mean, from the looks of things he doesn't seem _that_ happy with Hayley and I know he still loves you." Irma gave the papers to the registrars' office and took some mints off the table.

"I know but I can't bring myself to tell him. I mean, what am I supposed to say after all this time? 'Hi, Caleb the reason I broke up with you is because I have leukemia and I didn't want to tell you 'cause it would've hurt your feelings. Gee, you've lost weight'." She sat down on a near by couch to catch her breath. "It's just not that simple. By the way, where's Keira? I was hoping she'd help me in my Math homework."

"Oh, she had to go to Meridian with Josh. If she _went_ that is." Irma sat beside Cornelia, she unwrapped one of the many mints she grabbed and popped one in her mouth, "Apparently, she had a fight with Josh about him calling her lonely and miserable. Little does he know, she has a date tonight. Or so she told me." Keira texted Irma about the fight they had the night before just before she went to sleep and she told Irma about what she planned to do in the morning. **(The date was moved from a week later to this Saturday, Mark (Keira's date) texted her to move the date for tonight and she agreed)**

"Really?! Who is he? Is he cute? Is he hot?" she held Irma by the shoulders and shook her, "Tell me! It isn't Martin is it?"

"Geez, you're gonna throttle me in a second if you keep this up. No it isn't Martin." Irma laughed.

"I'm sorry, I've been cooped up in that room for so long I feel like I'm a caged zoo animal." She let go of Irma and smiled her gorgeous Corny smiles. "Oh I forgot, Martin only has eyes for his puffle monkey."

"Ha-ha very funny, the lucky guy is Mark Thompson from third period English lit."

"That skater guy? Cool! I always knew he fancied her just from the way he looked at her." She smiled and started circling her thumbs together just like she always did when she was bored.

"Hey, Corny, I've got this incredible idea. Why don't we go bowling tonight? We could 'spy' on Keira and Mark plus we can get out a bit." She said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Uh, if you haven't noticed I have an IV-tube strapped to my arm and besides, it isn't right to spy on people." She pointed to her arm and smiled, even though it wasn't right to spy on people she sometimes did spy on Will and Matt in study hall with Irma as her partner in crime.

"Well, they have light bowling balls and since when don't you like spying on people? If Will knew all the times we spied on her and Matt she'll have a fit and a heart attack afterwards." They burst out laughing and then got up from the couch.

"Ok, fine we'll go bowling tonight."

"Yes!" Irma squealed with delight and took a right turn. "We'll meet at 6.30pm in front of the Bowling Plaza. And wear something sexy." She yelled, leaving Cornelia feeling embarrassed as her cheeks turned red.

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Once Keira was out of the portal, she breathed in the familiar smells she grew up with. The smells of freshly made bread, freshly cut grass and the unmistakable smell of horse manure. She never liked that particular smell, who would? But it still reminded her of her childhood. She made her way down to the market where she met her old friends. There was Nikki, the shy one, Bobby, the tom-boy, and Christie, the goofier one of the group.

"Hey, guys," Keira smiled as her friends made their way towards their best-friend. They gave her a bone crushing hug, all at the same time, and just as she was turning blue they let go.

"Gee, you really know how to suck the life out of someone." She joked.

"Nice to see you too." Christie said.

"Hey, why don't we go get a cup of flower fusion at our usual place?" Bobby asked. Flower fusion is the native drink of Meridian. It consists of flower juices, different types of herbs all fused with normal cow milk. It was drunk on cold days in order for it to warm your body.

"Sure." They agreed. Together, they made their way to a shop at the end of the street where they lived for these four friends all lived in the same neighborhood. Nikki was the first one to enter the small shop followed closely by Bobby, Christie and lastly by Keira. A bell could be heard dinging happily somewhere above their heads, over the chatter of people, as they closed the door behind them. Bobby found a table in a corner were she took a seat on one of the stools that lay beside the tables, Nikki sat next to her while Christie and Keira sat at the opposite end. Keira sat down next to Christie, taking off her bow and arrows as she did so. The shop was like an exact picture of an inn in a Beowulf movie.

"So, what brings you to Meridian? Already bored of the big city life?" Nikki teased as she flipped through the scroll like menu.

"No, nothing like that. I just came to see my parents, it's been ages since I last talked to them." She took the salt and started twirling it around, "A lot's been going on lately." She said sadly.

"Really, like what?" Christie said as she took a menu from behind her and began ominously looking at it.

"Well, uh… don't tell anyone I told you this but… Caleb broke up with Cornelia." She said feeling kind of guilty, spreading the word of their break-up. They gasped and began asking all kinds of questions. Most of which Keira answered but some she just left blank. Just then, an elderly waitress came to take their order. They gave her the orders they wanted and then she left.

"I saw your brother here earlier. He looked really mad." Nikki said, "He was even muttering under his breath like he always does when he's mad but all I got was, something about you blowing him off. What were the words again? Oh, yeah 'That Keira always does this. Acting all bitchy and rude. It's not like I wanted to hurt her feelings she was the one who called me stupid.' But then he bumped into Aldarn and he went to the Smithy with him." She sighed dreamily at the mention of Josh. Nikki kind of had a crush on Josh.

"What did you do this time, Keira?" Bobby said as she curled her legs up under her. "You always manage to push his buttons. And you always take things a _little_ too far."

"Nothing, I did nothing to him. He's the one who called me bossy, pushy, stubborn _and_ self-centered there were some other things he said but I don't wanna talk about them." She said, about two seconds later the waitress came back with their orders.

Christie took a sip of her flower fusion and happily leaned back towards the wall, pulling her legs up towards her chest. "Let me guess? He called you lonely and miserable." She dunked her chocolate-chip-cookie in the flower fusion and took a bite.

"How do y'know?" Keira said surprised as hell. She took a sip from her own flower fusion and happily let her cookie drowned in the hot beverage.

"My brother always calls me lonely and miserable." She laughed which made the others giggle. "Little does he know Toby Jacobs has a crush on me. And he just so happens to have asked me out." She smiled as she ate the last bit of her cookie. Toby Jacobs was the hottest and coolest guy in Nikki, Christie and Bobby's school. There was a time when Keira wished he would ask her out but now she didn't like him that much, there were other boys she fancied at Sheffield Institute including Mark Thomson the guy who asked her out for that night.

"That's awesome!" Keira gently punched Christie in the shoulder after taking a mouthful of Bobby's sponge-cake. Bobby laughed and pinched Keira's hand. They continued talking about how hot Toby Jacobs was while Keira's thoughts kept going on what Cornelia was doing. '_She must be miserable in that stuffy old Hospital room.' _She thought sadly. Keira wished she could confide in Josh but that was impossible with the on going war they were having at that time. As much as she wanted to tell someone about what was bothering her she promised she wouldn't. A promise was a promise, no matter how much she regretted making it. She drank the last of her flower fusion and paid for it.

"Well, I've got to go. I need to give these gummy bears to Dad." She patted her back pocket and swung the bow and arrows around her slender shoulders. "Nice seeing you guys again.

"Ok, bye. It was nice seeing you again. But next time, try not to take so long for you to visit us." Nikki said as she gave Keira a quick hug.

"Bye." Christie and Bobby said as they exchanged their goodbyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She took out three packets of gummy bears and handed them to her friends.

"Thanks." They said as they greedily opened the packets and began eating them.

"Eww… flower fusion and gummy bears is not a good combination." She said with a smile.

"Says you." Bobby said as she popped a purple one into her mouth. All Keira could do was smile and laugh on her way out. Once out, she decided to go to the Smithy. Nikki said Josh would be there so that was a good start to try and find him. Once she found him she'd apologize for the way she hurt his feelings and maybe he'd forgive her for blowing him off all the time. She made her way to Aldarn's Smithy which only took about 5 minutes to get there. After she entered the shop she saw that Aldarn's father was making a new sword while Aldarn was mending a broken shield.

"Hey, Aldarn. Have you seen Josh anywhere around?" Just then Josh opened the back door carrying a bag full of coal. Once he closed the door he saw Keira standing there, the shop fell silent and Josh just scowled at her.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey," he said roughly. "Uh… so Aldarn, I better be going. I have to give these to Mom and Dad." He laid the coal near the furnace and took out two pieces of chocolate and then handed them over to Aldarn and his father. "It was nice seeing you again." He said.

"Same here." They said. Josh pushed Keira aside and made his way out the door.

"Wait." She yelled as she went running after him. When she was out she saw he was already ahead of her so she sprinted towards him and stopped in front of him.

"Josh, I'm sorry for blowing you off all the time I really am and I'm sorry for calling you stupid and for always bossing you around." She said. "I know I hurt your feelings and I wish you'd forgive me. I really need my brother right now."

"Fine, whatever. You say you're sorry but you'll just do it again in a couple of days." He said bitterly. "So just leave me alone and try not to follow me. You said you didn't want to come to Meridian and yet you still came. The only difference was that you didn't come with me so this proves it, this _proves_ you don't want to hang out with me. So whatever, do what you want."

"Look, I've said I'm sorry and I really am. I only came because you forgot Dad's gummy bears but if you don't want me here fine."

"Oh, well you can stay but only if you want to." He said, hoping she'd stay.

"Ok, I'll stay." She held out her hand and waited for his answer. "Friends again?" He didn't take her hand but instead he gave her a hug which brought a smile to her face.

"C'mon, I'll race you home." He let go of her and went running down the hill.

"You're so on." She ran after him and managed to catch up with him making her win the 'race'. They spent the remainder of the day at home talking with their parents sharing what happened during the past few months. But Keira still felt sad and depressed about her friend's illness. So she showed it by staying quiet, to her advantage, her parents and brother thought she was only tired but only if they knew what was really bothering her.

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It was 3.00pm and Cornelia was now home with her sister doing her Math homework along with her school assignments. Lillian was happily watching TV while munching on a tuna-fish sandwich Cornelia made for her. She was feeling much better than she felt that morning and being with her sister made her feel all the much better. Her mother was at work so Cornelia was in charge once again. Most of the time her mother was either at work or with Cornelia's doctors making difficult decisions for her sick daughter, so Cornelia hardly ever saw her. But since she was getting better, her mother was around more often. Today was the exception, she had to go to work because one of her colleges called in sick.

Cornelia didn't mind because her sister wasn't that bad to handle but she still missed being with her mom. Just then Lillian came to the dinning room table where Cornelia lay with her books open in front of her.

"Cornelia, why haven't you been going to school?" she sat next to Cornelia and put her sandwich on the table, "You've been going to the Hospital haven't you?"

What was she going to tell her 5 year old sister now? She was pretty smart for her age so you couldn't keep a secret from her because one way or another she'd find out. "Well, yes I've been going to the Hospital, only to visit a sick friend." She lied. _'Nice save Corny.'_ she thought. "How do you know I wasn't going to school?"

"I have my connections." Lillian said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? Hook me up next time I'm in a pinch." Cornelia said as she finished the last of her homework. **(Don't know if that's expression exists, if not I just invented one xD)**

"Sure thing big sis." She gave Cornelia a hi five and went to put her plate in the sink.

"Did you do your homework?" Cornelia asked as she closed her Math book. At last, her ton of homework was done.

"Uh… I meant to do it but Winx was on and I didn't want to miss the Halloween special."

"Well you better go do it or you won't go to the park tomorrow."

"Oh, man! Fine I'll go." Lillian trudged to her room to get her school bag, once she was back in the dinning room, she poured the contents of her bag onto the table. They spent the remainder of the last 3 hours doing homework in silence. As the clock struck 6.00pm Cornelia got up from the table and began her walk to the Bowling Plaza. Her mother arrived half an hour before so Lillian wasn't going to be alone at home. Once she arrived at the Bowling Plaza, she saw Irma and Hay Lin already there. She walked up to them and gave Hay Lin a hug.

"Whoa, what's gotten into you?" said a surprised Hay Lin.

"Nothing, I just missed you that's all." Cornelia said once she pulled apart. "Hey, is Taranee coming?"

"No, she said something came up." Irma said while she fumbled with her jacket zip.

"She had a costume party to go with Nigel is more correct." Hay Lin said, "But you didn't hear that from me."

"Oooh, Taranee is sooo busted!" Irma said as she threw her fist in the air. They burst out laughing as they imagined Taranee at a party. She wouldn't' be caught dead in a party let alone a _costume_ party. Just then, Will came hand in hand with Matt. A big smile could be seen as she came closer to the girls.

"Looks like Taranee isn't the only one on a date." Cornelia said as she buried her hands deeper inside her pockets.

"Hey, guys. I brought Matt with me I hope you guys don't mind." She said in a guilty kind of way.

"No, it's fine with us. We're just happy you guys finally made a move. I thought I'd be all wrinkly when you'd guys get together." Irma said which made the guys giggle all except for Will who just turned bright red along with Matt.

"Uh, let's go inside, it's freezing out here." Will said as she lead the way in, followed closely by Matt. They entered the Plaza and were greeted by the spectacular decorations inside. The Halloween decorations were breath taking, orange and black streamers lined the ceiling, balloons of black, grey and orange were hung in every corner and giant disco ball was hung in the middle of the Plaza which sent illuminating lights in every direction. They went to the counter to pay for the lane and get their shoes. The counter guy was wearing the sleaziest Dracula costume ever made.

"May I help you?" he said in an obviously fake Transylvanian accent.

"Yes, we need a lane for 5 people please." They wrote their names on a piece of paper so that the guy could input their names in the computer which then would show on the TV screen mounted just before the lane. Cornelia was the first one to pay and go get her shoes followed by the others.

"Do you guys see Keira and Mark?" Hay Lin asked while she scanned the area.

"Nope, wait wait. There in the last lane to our rights" Irma said. They saw Keira holding a bright green bowling ball while Mark showed her how to set her fingers in the holes.

"Please tell me you guys didn't come here to spy on Keira?" Will said as she laced her 'bowling shoes', they were more like clown shoes and they felt sticky from the inside. Good thing she had two pairs of socks on.

"Uh… no, we came here to bowl." Irma said as she took a black bowling ball in her hands, "And to spy on Keira. But mostly to bowl."

"I only came because I needed to get out." Cornelia said.

Will sighed and then turned serious. "So that's what you did in study hall! You spied on me and Matt."

"Well, most of the time yes but we were mostly there to do research." Irma said with a smile. She took her position on the lane and let lose her bowling ball, she hit most of the pins but the other three remained standing.

"Most of the time." Cornelia confirmed. Will turned bright red, yet again, and looked at Matt, he just laughed his pretty head off.

"What's so funny?" Will asked.

"I don't mind if they spied on us, so what? I used to do the same with Nigel and Taranee, heck I still do." He chuckled, he swung his arm around Will and kissed her on the forehead lovingly.

"God, I'm surrounded by wanna be James Bonds." Will said with a smile.

"James, James Bond." Cornelia said as she lifted the lightest bowling ball there was, aimed and fired, happily hitting all of the pins. She pretended to blow smoke off of her fingers and rested her back to Irma's. Hay Lin snapped a photo and proceeded to the lane. Over the past few months Hay Lin was trying to piece together a scrapbook and so, every chance she had she'd snap a photo to fill it in and make more memories.

The next couple of hours were spent by the Irma and Hay Lin spying on Keira and Mark while Will and Matt teased each other about their bad bowling, only Cornelia wasn't that interested in her friends' intentions. She just kept thinking about Caleb, she wanted to feel his big, strong arms around her shoulders, she wanted to smell that nice and soothing scent he had which always made her feel safe and protected when he was around. _'If only he was here.'_ She thought.

Just then she heard that irritating but yet familiar voice she so despised. She spun around and saw Hayley Parker hand in hand with the man of her dreams. Caleb was actually there, holding hands with this stupid, giggly girl she oh so hated. But the way Caleb was holding her hand was strange to Cornelia, it almost looked like it was…forced. They found their lane, which happened to be right next to theirs, and sat on the chairs to strap on their 'bowling shoes'. Hayley's shoes were baby pink with the word _Princess_ on the side of each shoe, probably was imported from Italy for all they knew.

The guys saw how Cornelia's face fell when she saw them together and so they went next to her. "Are you ok?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." They looked at her for a couple of seconds and then went back to their former positions. It was Cornelia's turn again so she got up, grabbed a bowling ball and threw it with all her might, letting her anger escape through the force of the blow. She imagined Hayley's face on the pins which totally helped her knock them down, she was only surprised they didn't shatter into a million pieces.

A few minutes past and Hayley went to the bathroom leaving Caleb alone at the bowling lane. Irma and Hay Lin went to the snack counter while Will and Matt went to the games room until the 'break' was over. It was like they planed it to be like this, Cornelia in one lane and Caleb in another. She picked a random ball and shot it, just for practice. She knocked most the pins down which brought a smile to her face, _'I bet Hayley can't even count as far as ten let alone get the rules of this game.'_ She thought which lightened her mood a bit. As soon a she spun around she found Caleb standing in front of her.

"Nice shot." He said, having his hands crossed whilst leaning against the lane arch.

"Thanks." She said, she was feeling kind of weird talking to her ex-boyfriend while his new girlfriend was in the bathroom. "I uh… wanted to say I'm happy for you, that you're dating again I mean."

"Yeah. How's your knew boyfriend?" he asked, he wasn't curious or anything he was just making conversation.

"I don't have a boyfriend. Who told you I did?" Cornelia asked already knowing the answer.

"Hayley, she said she saw you two at the drug store together…buying…stuff." He looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"I knew it! She's making stuff up again." She said, feeling her blood boil. "I don't have a boyf…"

"It's ok, you don't have to prove anything to me Cornelia, it's not my business to know who you're dating anyway. It was wrong of me to ask." He said, cutting her off. As soon as he finished Hayley came up from behind him and gave him a quick hug.

"Hey, babe. Let's go finish our game." She held his hand in hers and looked at Cornelia. "Oh, hi Cornelia, I didn't even see you there."

"Yeah. We were just talking about my boyfriend you made up." She spat, her nerves getting the better of her.

"What do you mean? I saw you with your boyfriend at the drug store." Hayley said as a matter of factly.

"That was my doctor." She said before she could stop herself from saying more.

"Doctor? What doctor? Is everything ok?" Caleb asked immediately.

"Yeah, uh… he just wanted to make sure I bought the right pills for my headaches." She lied.

"Oh, well hope you feel better." Hayley said before she led Caleb back to their lane. Will came up from behind her and startled Cornelia.

"Is everything ok, Cornelia? I heard doctor and pills."

"Oh, no everything is fine, I was just having these headaches lately and I just bought some pills. It's nothing." She said, trying to sound convincing. "Now c'mon, it's your turn Matt." Irma looked at her sternly until Cornelia mouthed "It's ok." They spent the remainder of the night bowling talking and just having fun, well…most of them were. When it was time to go Cornelia, called her mom so that she could pick her up which she did in a matter of minutes.

**End of Chapter 5**

**WOW! It's finally ready. Well, I hope you liked the chapter and I hope it makes sense 'cause I feel like I haven't slept in days. It's 3.30am and I think I had enough of writing for a week ;-). Just kidding, I'll try and update as fast as I can. If I don't please forgive me, I have about 3 assignments I need to hand in and a bunch of homework I need to do. So, sorry for the really laaaaaaate update and I hope you liked this chapter. –XKrissyx-**

**P.S Happy Halloween!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**A/N****: People, I'm sorry for not updating sooner I just didn't have the inspiration to write-I bet you've heard every kind of excuse coming out of my mouth- but it's the truth. Anyway, yellow14 I'll take your advice and start putting A/N in the beginning, end and middle (if necessary) and RachelJohnson and WitchTK, thanks so much for your encouragement it means a lot to me. So, enough blabbing about, on with the story.**

**Chapter 6:**

_Caleb was in the park holding hands with Cornelia Hale. They sat on a bench gazing at the sparkly sky that twinkled on the two lovers. Cornelia snuggled closer into Caleb's arms and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead lovingly and whispered in her ear "I love you." He lifted her chin and gave her a peck on the lips._

"_I love you, too." She said once they pulled apart. After a few more seconds of listening to the crickets' song, Cornelia spoke "Caleb, I…I'm dying. You have to forget about me. Move on with your life without me." He looked at her and saw the life drain away from her eyes; her limp body fell into his arms, lifeless._

Caleb felt someone shake him awake, with such force he almost fell out the bed. "I'm up, I'm up." He said as his eyes focused on the intruder in his room, it was Keira. "Oh, it's just you. I wish you would have woken me up sooner."

"What were you dreaming then?" she asked.

"Nothing, why are you waking me up this early?" Caleb asked as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and looked at his alarm clock, it read 8.00am.

"I made you breakfast." She smiled innocently.

"What is it you broke this time?"

"Nothing, I just need a lift to school." She fumbled with her brother's quilt, "I missed the bus again."

"Fine. Just let me have my coffee first." He got out of bed and stretched, "Where's your brother?" he said as he went down the stairs.

"Oh, he's got a major hangover from yesterday's party. Luckily, Mark and I brought him home before he threw up all over himself." Over the past month, Mark and Keira had been going out a lot and were now officially calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. Once down the stairs, Caleb found bacon and eggs waiting for him on the table, most of the bacon was burnt but it was still edible.

"Mmm…burnt bacon my favorite." He teased.

"Shut it. At least I tried cooking you breakfast." She said with a smile. Caleb ate his breakfast in silence while Keira texted Mark. After Caleb ate, he drove Keira to school where he met with Hayley.

"Hey, babe!" she said as she leaned in from the open window where she gingerly kissed him on the lips.

"Hey." Caleb said as he killed the engine. Keira just rolled her eyes and got out of the car as fast as she could. The last thing she wanted was to be present while her brother was making out with her arch nemesis. But before Keira could close the car door, Caleb called out to her. "Keira, I know it's kinda weird me asking this but can you ask Cornelia if she's fine. I mean, I heard she's been going to the doctor lately, well she told me, and I'm just a little bit worried." He whispered. Being worried about your ex-girlfriend was a bit bizarre but that was just Caleb and it made complete sense to Keira.

As soon as she heard him say that Cornelia told him about the doctor, Keira felt her heart skip a beat. "So, you know about the condition she has?" she asked, curiously.

"What condition?" he asked, completely forgetting Hayley was there.

"What exactly did she tell you?" She said seriously, grasping her books ever so tighter.

"Do you always answer a question with a question?"

"No, but what condition did she say she has?" Now Caleb had gotten out of the car and was standing right next to Keira. Just then, Cornelia walked by with Mark.

"Hey, Keira. We thought you wouldn't show." Mark said as he took her books.

"Yeah, where have you been?" Cornelia asked.

"Cornelia, did you tell Caleb you have l…" Keira began to say but was cut off when Cornelia spoke up.

"NO! I…I mean no. I've just been having some headaches that's all."

"So, you're fine?" Caleb asked.

"Healthy as a horse." She grinned and grabbed Keira by the arm. "C'mon, the bell's about to ring and we wouldn't want to be late like some people." She spat in Hayley's direction.

Hayley just glared at her and grabbed Caleb's hand. "C'mon babe, my friends want to see you." She stiffly dragged him in the other direction while he kept his gaze on Cornelia. She just looked at him in a pained way but what was she supposed to do? Go running after him? No, that'd be too crazy. Besides, he looked happy with Hayley, even though she hated her guts but the good thing was he got over her. After he was out of sight she sharply turned to face Keira. "What were you thinking?! You almost told him I have leukemia." She said completely forgetting Mark was still there. _'Damn it. Now Mark knows too.' _She thought bluntly.

"You have leukemia?" he said.

"Now you're the one who told Mark." Keira said.

"Yes, I have leukemia. But don't tell anyone, not even Will, Taranee or Hay Lin." She said as the bell rang, ignoring Keira's comment.

"What about Irma? Does she know?" he said as he started walking to the decorated doors of Sheffield Institute (It was decorated with bows, bells and silver beads since it was almost Christmas).

"Yeah, she knows." Keira said. Now the cat was outta the bag and there was nothing they could do. Almost telling Caleb was a close one but telling Mark was something they couldn't take back.

"But I have a question. Why don't you tell Caleb? I mean, you told him you were going to the doctor so why don't you tell him the truth?" Mark said as he opened his locker. "I mean, if you could tell him about going to the doctor, telling him about the real reason you went to the doctor is more honest in a way, right?"

"It's… complicated." She said, the second bell rang which meant they were now officially late for class. But the good thing was they had to go to the gym because they had their weekly assembly. On the way, they met up with Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin and together they walked to the gym. Every week they've been having assemblies about the ozone layer, recycling and all kinds of stuff about the future of the planet. Sure it was boring but hey, it was still better then normal class. They had no idea what this week's subject was going to be but lately, Irma didn't really care. She had been spacing out a lot, having loss of appetite and this was all because of the secret she promised to keep, it was affecting her a lot and it felt like something was eating her alive. But she had promised and she had to keep that promise no matter how much it pained her.

They entered the gym were the assembly was being held. As boring as they were, everyone liked assemblies. You had an excuse to be late and out of class and you got to sit with your friends so it was like the cafeteria, where the cliques could gather. Best of all, the assemblies were in the gym which meant you could sit wherever you want with whomever you want. The coolest kids got the highest levels of the bleachers where they could ignore the speakers and talk to each other without getting in trouble with the teachers.

So the gang always sat in the middle, they went to the right side furthest from the stage and entered in single file where they found empty seats which positioned them right next to Martin. The assembly began and started talking about giving in the spirit of Christmas. This time of year, the teachers were all trying to convince the students to give more but it rarely ever worked. Before they knew it, the assembly was over and it was time for class. Will and Taranee had Math while Irma and Hay Lin had Art, the others just had study hall so it was kinda of a free lesson but the only problem was, they had a bunch of homework to catch up on.

So, they went to the library. Keira and Mark just kept to the back while Cornelia sped a bit in the front, giving them a bit of privacy to talk to each other. She knew the feeling and really missed it but there was nothing she could do except remember the good, old times and just move on. Once there, they found a table in the corner and started finding reference books on English, Geography, and all the other boring subjects they were taught. Cornelia was the first one to get a stack and begin her English essay about '_The portrait of Dorian Gray'_. After an hour of writing and getting books, Cornelia started feeling light headed but she only thought it was because she hadn't eaten anything so she didn't bother telling neither Mark nor Keira. But it was only after she got up to put a few books back that she really started experiencing a lot of pain.

She tried telling Keira but just then, she felt the colour drain from her face and she fainted. When Keira saw this she got up so quickly, she knocked her chair over. She rushed to her side while Mark went to inform the librarian to call 911 since it was a possibility it was the cause of the leukemia.

"Don't worry, Corny we're getting help for you." Keira said, she turned her in the recovery position and quickly texted Irma about what happened.

**Meanwhile in Art class:**

Irma and Hay Lin, along with the other students, were surrounding a table which has an orange, a couple of apples and a vase full of flowers. They had to paint it as best they could, the stereo was on but still asked the students to switch off their mobile phones. Irma and Hay Lin just turned them on silent because they felt it was better that way.

"Hey, Irma why don't we go and watch _'A Christmas Carol' _next Saturday?" Hay Lin asked as she added a few more shadows to the flowers. "I heard Taranee wanted to see it and it looks cool."

"Sure, whatever." She said with a heavy sigh while adding a few strokes to the apples' redness.

"What's wrong with you? Lately, you've been so pessimistic it's not even funny anymore." She put her paintbrush in the glass of water and crossed her arms as she turned and looked at Irma.

"Nothing, I'm just not in the mood for anything lately." She said. During classes she could hardly concentrate on what the teachers were saying and just after the bell would ring she'd start wondering in the hallway until one of her friends would tell her were to go or if they had the same class together, they'd drag her with them to class.

Homework was a complete bust, whenever she opened a textbook all she could think about was Cornelia's sad but brave words; ''Promise me you won't tell anyone about this.'' And whenever she had to go to the Hospital, she kept forgetting her assignments and which patient she was supposed to visit. wasn't pleased with this and neither was she pleased to hear that Irma didn't read the Hospital literature she was assigned to read. To top it all of she wasn't eating anything because she hadn't had the appetite for anything and this really worried her friends. Just then she felt her mobile vibrate against her leg so she took out her I-phone out of her jeans pocket and saw that Keira texted her. It read;

_Irma, Cornelia collapsed in the library and we're taking her to the Hospital. I think it's the chemo. You better come too, she's going to need you._

She shoved it back in her jeans pocket and got up from her seat. _'Screw this. I'm fed up painting anyway.'_ She thought as she went for the door.

"Where do you think you're going ?" asked, her beaded necklace jangling as she walked to where Irma was. For a woman in her late fifties, she moved fast.

"I need to go, my friend's in trouble." She opened the door with such force the handle almost came off. She sped through the corridors, avoiding hall-monitors as she did so, where she went to the front gate. There she found an open ambulance truck and an unconscious Cornelia on a stretcher being dragged inside.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I…I don't know first she was up and walking and before we know it she collapsed." Keira said. She entered the van and waited for Irma to enter too. As soon as Mark was going to enter the paramedic said;

"Only two people can ride with us."

"It's ok, you guys go since you're her best friends I'll stay here and fill the teachers in about what happened. And don't worry I'll keep it a secret." He kissed Keira goodbye and went back inside. Once they closed the doors they sped through the streets to the Franklin Gibbs Memorial Hospital. Once there, they parked and then the doctors took Cornelia away. Keira and Irma got out of the truck and went to talk to the doctors at the doors about what happened.

Once they gave their 'report' they went in the lobby to wait for them to come back. They called Cornelia's parents and she immediately came with Lillian of course since she had no one to take care of her. They explained what happened and took a seat. For the past hour they waited for the doctor and when they thought they couldn't take anymore, Cornelia's doctor came.

"Hi, I'm Cornelia's doctor, . I believe you're her friends." He introduced himself for Irma and Keira and went on, "I believe you're daughter, , passed out from lack of sleep, she was beyond exhausted. We still don't know how she managed to keep going on."

"Yes, doctor she's been having trouble sleeping the past few nights. I've been giving her the pills you subscribed for the pain but it helped only a little." said as she picked up Lillian.

"All we can do is increase the dosage." He said.

"Doc, is my sister going to be ok?" Lillian asked while she twisted a lock of her mother's hair.

"Yes, she's going to be fine." said with a smile, "You can go and see her. She's asleep at the moment but being there with her will make it all the much better."

"Thank you, doctor." said as she followed him to Cornelia's room. Irma and Keira stayed behind since they thought it was more appropriate for to get to see her daughter first. After half an hour came out and told them they could go and see her. She then went back home with Lillian while Irma and Keira kept Cornelia company.

They entered the room and saw the same image they saw the first time they were in here; tubes ran from her nose and arms and an IV tube was strapped to her arm supplying her with more chemo. Her face had no colour and her lips were almost blue. They sat on the chairs that were against the walls and just stayed there in silence for a couple of minutes.

"I can't take it anymore! We've got to tell Caleb about this." Irma whispered over the bed since Keira was on the other side of the room, she pointed to the tubes and such.

"I know but we can't interfere between them." Keira said, even though it pained her to say it, this was between the two of them and if they didn't want no one to interfere who was she to go blabbering about it?

"Don't you feel empty inside? Don't you feel this secret is eating you alive?" she said while she pounded gently on her chest to emphasize more. "I know that if we tell Caleb he'd forgive her and she would be glad we told him."

"I don't know, what if she hated us then? What if she won't trust us after we tell him?"

"First of all she won't hate us and second she's known us for years." Irma said.

"She's known _you_ for years; she's known me for a couple of months." Keira said as she closed the curtains, she figured once Cornelia would wake up she wouldn't want to see bright light.

"In which she's grown to love. C'mon, she considers you a sister she told me so herself." Irma said just then, Cornelia began to wake up.

"Shh, she's waking up." Keira said as she sat back down. "Hey, how are you?" she grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"My head hurts." She touched her head and felt it was sore.

"You hit your head hard when you fell, so don't try to get up." Keira explained. Just then, they heard Irma sniffle, they both looked at her and smiled.

"Why are you crying, Irma?" Cornelia said softly.

"I…I just can't stand seeing you like this. I wish you'd get better quickly." She said while she took a tissue from the nightstand.

"If I don't you'd still have the memories we've shared." Cornelia said as she felt her own eyes water.

"Don't say that, you're getting better I can see it." Keira said trying not to burst like a bubble.

"Come here." Cornelia said, they leaned forward and gave here a warm hug. Before they knew it, they were all crying and passing out tissues.

"I think I haven't cried this hard since I lost ." Irma said.

"Who's ?" Cornelia and Keira asked.

"My teddy bear. I lost him when I was 8 years old." Irma said as a matter of factly. Just then they burst out laughing and they forgot about all the bad stuff. After an hour of keeping each other company it was time to go. Irma and Keira went their separate ways while Cornelia began flipping through the channels.

Keira arrived home at 4.30pm. Caleb was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels while Josh was nursing a head cracking headache. She dropped her bag on the floor and took of her coat.

"Hey, I'm home." She said as she hung her coat.

"Hey." They managed to mumble. _'They're not very happy to see me.'_ She thought.

"You're dinner is in the oven." Caleb said as he turned off the TV and got up from the sofa.

"Nah, I'm not hungry." She slumped on her favorite armchair and kicked her shoes off. "Where are you going?" she said as she saw Caleb put on his shoes.

"I'm taking Hayley to this party, well, she's taking me but you get the picture." He said, as she heard this Keira felt her face go red with anger. He was going out with that… snob while Cornelia was in the hospital.

"Caleb, I need to tell you something." She said, what if she told him about Cornelia's disease? There was no harm in it. "It's kinda important." Now she was going against her beliefs after all, she was the one trying to convince Irma not to tell Caleb about the secret.

"Can it wait? I'm kinda late and I already know she's not going to like this." He put on his denim jacket and said, "Thanks, I knew you'd understand." Then he went out the door and into his car.

Keira just stayed there looking bewildered then she looked at Josh who had his head on the table and said, "This is all your fault." She grabbed a pillow and threw it in his face.

"Hey!" He said as he recovered from the blow. Keira just ignored his protest and continued, "If is wasn't for you stupid plan, Caleb would know by now that Cornelia has leukemia and he'd know that she's in the Hospital with a bunch of tubes and wires attached to her." She yelled.

"She has leukemia?" he said as he lifted his head.

"Yeah, and all this time you've been picking on her and calling her names. You're such a jerk!" Keira yelled as she stormed up the stairs, leaving Josh there feeling like crap.

The noise of the party thundered in Caleb's ears. Everywhere he looked people were laughing and having a good time. But he still felt as if he were set apart from it all, an invisible observer who only had the privilege to see other people having fun. He tried hard to concentrate on what Hayley was saying but there was only so much noise he could take.

"…so then she tells me 'Oh no he didn't' and I said 'Yeah he did' and then Ramona jumped in and said 'Well duh, of course he'd invite you you're the Queen of Popular.' So anyway, next Saturday Reggie is having this big party for all the seniors and he sent invitations to all the cool people and we can bring dates. Of course you popped into my mind the second he said we could bring dates. If you're not busy this Saturday…"

His mind drifted off again, that was the weekend he'd planned to take Cornelia to Meadow Brooks. The last time they'd been there, they had packed a picnic lunch and hiked up stream that fed into a lake for the perfect spot. They discovered, a rock pool shaded by ferns, sweet-smelling pine trees and beautiful oak trees where they could swim in private without a care in the world.

They spent the day dipping into the ice-cold water and getting warm in the sun in each others arms. They talked quietly, planning their future together. Then they kissed and the kissing seemed to go on forever, sweet and delicate like Cornelia herself. He remembered the feel of her bare arms around his neck, her sweet smelling skin and the way she made his heart race. _'I guess everything comes to an end' _he thought sadly…

"Caleb, are you listening?" Hayley said, getting impatient by the minute. "Did you hear what I said?" Hayley's voice broke into his thoughts once again.

"Uh… sure I was listening." He lied hoping she'd just shut up. But as he soon found out, she had more to say.

"Oh, yeah? What did I say then?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for his answer.

Now she was treating him like a child. Who was she to treat him that way? Not even his mother treated him like a kid. "Oh, who cares about some stupid party? All you want to do is show me off to your friends well I've had it! I'm not some guinea pig you take to show and tell." He yelled at her, he was aware of his voice growing louder, rising over the dim sound of the music but he didn't care.

"We're over!" she hissed, her voice giving off venom.

"Babe, we never started." He spun around and walked away, "Try asking one of these chumps if they'd give you a lift 'cause I've got better things to do then drive bitches home." He opened the door and left Hayley gapping with her mouth wide open.

He went over to his car and opened the door. In a funny kind of way, he felt better than he had in weeks. He wasn't going to deny the way he felt about Cornelia any longer. Maybe he wouldn't get her back, but that wasn't going to stop him from loving her. He started the engine and hit the streets back home. After a few minutes he arrived home and pulled in the driveway. He got out, making sure he locked it behind him, and went to the front door. Once opened, he dragged himself upstairs to his room. Opening the door, his thoughts kept lingering to Cornelia; what was she doing? who was she with? is she happy? He slumped on the bed and waited for sleep to take him but sleep never came.

Instead he heard a knock on the door. "Come in." he said, his voice muffled with a pillow. Keira and Irma entered and sat next to him. After she stormed off to her room Keira called Irma and told her to come over so they could talk to Caleb about something important. "Caleb." Keira touched his shoulder gently. "What happened with Hayley? Why are you home so early?"

He laughed a humorless laugh, "I told her she was wasting my time. I left her at the party and then came here. There's no use denying it anymore, I can't stop thinking about Cornelia. I keep wondering who she's with and what she's doing. God, I love her so much!"

"She loves you, too." Irma said gently.

Caleb sat up and said, "That's a joke. She couldn't care less about me and I don't blame her."

Keira shook her head sadly. "You're wrong, Caleb. You don't know how wrong you are. We've talked to Cornelia. She explained everything to us. She…she only broke up with you to protect you." There was a lump so big in her throat it hurt to talk but when she swallowed, it only seemed to get bigger.

"She was only thinking of you." Irma said, trying to comfort him.

"Protect me? From what? She only hurt me more." He said, he saw a guilty look flash across her face. He gripped Keira's arms and held her tight but gentle at the same time. "What's going on, Keira? What did Cornelia tell you?"

"Drive us to the Hospital and we'll explain." Irma said.

"The Hospital? Why the Hospital?" he said as his face whitened.

"Just…trust us." Keira said, she escaped his grip and went to the door. Together they drove to the Hospital. Caleb and Keira in the front while Irma sat in the back holding on for dear life. He was driving with such speed Irma thought the engine would burst into flames. Once they arrived he parked wherever he found space and he was lead by Keira and Irma to where Cornelia was.

They stopped in front of a room which had a half glass wall which continued like a normal wall **(****A/N****: Like the 'Grey's Anatomy' rooms at **_**Seattle Grace Hospital**_**, I'm not very good at describing these kind of rooms) **Caleb stared inside and saw a blonde haired woman reading a book.

"Who's that?" Caleb asked.

Keira and Irma looked at each other and Keira proceeded to deliver the news. "Uh…I guess there's no easy way of telling you this, but that's Cornelia. She's sick."

"I mean _really_ sick. She's dying… of leukemia. We only found out by accident. She was in the Hospital for treatment when we volunteered as candy stripers. I'm so sorry Caleb." Irma said as she tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

"I'm so sorry, Caleb. I wish we weren't the ones to tell you!" Keira said she gave him a hug and when they pulled apart he raced to the door and opened it.

Cornelia sat alone in her room reading a book her mother brought her earlier in the day. The room was decorated with holly, tinsel and candy canes hanging around the doors. In a corner there was a small Christmas tree decorated with little ornaments. As soon as she closed the book she heard the door open with such force it startled her. It was Caleb, he was making his way to her bed. He gave her a bone crushing hug and kissed her lovingly, it took her breath away. He gave her small pecks until she burst out giggling.

"Caleb, what are you doing here?" she said with a smile, her heart soared with happiness.

"I know, I know everything. Why didn't you tell me?" he knelt down and grabbed her hand, he then kissed it and waited for her answer.

"I was afraid, I didn't want you to see me like this. Caleb, I didn't want you to watch me die. I remember how it was with my dad. Always visiting him and never seeing any good results. I wanted to save you from that pain. I love you too much to let you go through that."

"Nothing could hurt me more than losing you. And imagining you with someone else hurt me even more." Caleb said.

"Oh, Caleb. I never went out with anyone, it hurt me too much. I never stopped loving you. When you thought I was going away to be with my 'lover' I thought this was better." She felt a tear make its way down her cheek

"Don't you know?" he cupped her face and brushed the tear away with his thumb, "I could never be free from loving you, my heart is yours and you mean everything to me. The only thing that can hurt me is you, Cornelia." He kissed her and at that moment she felt whole again. Maybe it was the medication, she didn't know, but she felt weightless and so happy she could fly.

"I missed you." She said.

"Me too." They stayed in each others arms for a couple more minutes and after they pulled apart Caleb said; "Hayley said you were hanging all over some guy at the drugstore. Who was he?"

Cornelia was confused for a moment, but then she remembered who he was talking about. "That day I went to pick up my prescription of pills and the doctor came with me since he's a family friend. When I came out I almost fell and he caught me. I guess it _must_ have looked like I was over him."

Caleb grinned and said, "I hate to think of you going through so much alone. If you told me sooner I would have helped you. Thank God, Keira and Irma had the guts to break their promise."

"They were supposed to keep it a secret." She looked at the glass and saw them looking inside, when they met her gaze they walked out of view.

"I'm glad they did."

"I suppose it's kinda selfish of me but I can't help wanting you to be with me." She said.

"I'm here and I'm not leaving this time." He pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"But I'm leaving you." She said with regret. "Soon I think."

"Keira said you're getting better and we still have time. So for the time being we still have each other. Cornelia, I love you and I never will stop loving you." For the first time in months, Cornelia didn't feel cold instead she felt really warm. She felt Caleb's warm lips brush against hers in a gentle, lingering kiss, she nearly cried out with happiness.

"It's funny," she said after the pulled apart, "I don't feel so afraid anymore. I feel stronger, like I can face anything. Even death."

Caleb held her tightly, they were both crying, tears of sadness mixed with tears of happiness. "I love you." She whispered softly in his ear.

"And I love you too. I could keep holding you like this forever." He whispered back. _'Forever' _she thought. Maybe forever wasn't such a long time for them, but when you loved someone as much as she loved Caleb, a day could be forever, even at a moment like this.

Cornelia smiled as she looked up at him. "I heard and saw you with Hayley. How could you?"

"Well, Josh set us up and I just liked imagining she was you." Caleb smiled back, sitting on a chair. "But she's not that bad. If you close you're eyes and plugged your ears with wax." They burst out laughing and embraced tightly, their faces wet with tears.

"I love you." She murmured once again. "And don't you ever forget that. Caleb knew he wouldn't, part of Cornelia would stay with him for the rest of his life.

**End of Chapter 6**

**A/N****: Ok, it's finished not the story but the chapter I still have a few chapters in mind. So anyway, I just want to thank my best friend for helping me write it and for giving me a couple of ideas. THANK YOU Blossom Flower_92! I also would like to apologize for the late update but I had a big writers block. So uh, anyway review and keep on reading. -–xKrissyx--**


	7. Chapter 7

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**A/N:**** Well, I'm back. Hope you liked the last chapter and for yellow14 sorry for not letting W T H in on the secret I just didn't know where to put that part. Anyway, this is chapter 7 and I hope you like it.**

**Chapter 7:**

It had been a week since Keira and Irma told Caleb about Cornelia's secret and since then, Will, Taranee and Hay Lin were told about her secret too. Since then they've been closer than ever, at practice they didn't take it easy on her, just like she asked, but they were carful not to hurt her, at school they tried to be supportive of Cornelia's wishes as to ignore Hayley with her cruel comments but there was so much they could take. On Monday, Will had an argument with her, well it was more like a fight because Will was only moments away from smacking the crap outta Hayley. Luckily for her, Irma pulled Will away just in time. Now they had two weeks without as much seeing her face since it was time for winter break.

**Flashback:**

_Cornelia, Irma, Will and Taranee were sitting at a table in the best Chinese restaurant that could be found in Heatherfield, The Silver Dragon. They decided they'd have an afterschool snack before doing their History assignment on '_the French Revolution' _but the real reason they were there had to do with Cornelia. She finally decided to tell them after Keira and Irma told Caleb, Mark and Josh. She had been a bit mad that Mark and Josh knew before Will, Taranee and Hay Lin but then she accepted it, what else was she to do?_

_Keira and Hay Lin were in the kitchen fixing up some milk and cookies while Will and Taranee talked about the topics they'd discuss for the assignment. Cornelia just texted Caleb from underneath the table until it was time to tell them the news if you could call it news._

_As soon as she put her I-phone away, Keira and Hay Lin came out of the kitchen holding a big tray full of chocolate-chip cookies and milk. They each took one and started munching while talking between bites. Once Cornelia drank the last of her milk she spoke;_

"_Uh…guys I need to tell you something." Irma and Keira looked at her and nodded as they put the cookie they were about to eat away. She took a deep breath and proceeded. "The reason I've been acting all weird and strange is because I have leukemia." As soon as they heard her say the word 'Leukemia', Taranee dropped her cookie, Will turned whiter than paper and Hay Lin almost chocked on a couple of chocolate chips._

"_Heh…please tell me you're joking even though it's not a joking matter." Will said._

"_It's true, I do have leukemia." Cornelia said as she took another bite out of her cookie._

"_I don't believe you. You're taking this too lightly." Taranee said._

"_What am I supposed to do? Start tearing up my hair. Over time I learned to accept it." Cornelia said._

"_It's true, we saw her with our two own eyes." Irma said._

"_She was in a hospital bed and everything." Jumped Keira._

"_Oh my, God!" Taranee said, she got up from her seat and gave her a bone crushing hug followed by Will and Hay Lin. They apologized for giving her the cold shoulder and she happily accepted their_ _apology. Cornelia spent the remainder of the afternoon explaining how Irma and Keira knew before them, how she was getting better thanks to the chemo and that now she was back with Caleb._

**End of Flashback**

It was Friday night, Christmas Eve to be exact, and Cornelia was now lying on her stomach in her bedroom doing her English homework while her mother was cooking dinner. Lillian was at her friend's house so there was total silence in the house except, Cornelia had her Mp3 player blasting through her ears so all she could hear were the banging drums being played by _'Paramore'_. As soon as she finished the last line of her essay, she felt someone press against her back and with strong arms envelope her in a warm hug, she smelt his cologne and immediately knew who it was. He grabbed one of her ear phones and put it in his ear.

"Hmm...it's got a good beat." He kissed her cheek until she burst out giggling.

"Yeah, I thought so." She turned off her Mp3 and closed her file and books, "What are you doing here?" she said with a smile.

"I got bored at home and decided to come and see you." He slipped off of her and lay on his side, "Why don't we go out? We could go to the Christmas carnival, or maybe we could see a movie; I heard _'Avatar'_ is good." Caleb said.

"Go out again? We've already went out the past few days." She laced her fingers through his as looked deep into his emerald-green eyes. She could get lost in them any day.

"So? Please? I really want to make it up to you for that Hayley thing. Besides who in the right mind stayed home on Christmas Eve?" Caleb said as he looked at her with puppy dog eyes. Just one puppy dog look and Cornelia felt her heart warm up. So, naturally, she gave in.

"Ok, fine, we'll go out. But how about we go to the carnival?" she asked.

"Sure. Now get dressed and we'll go." He stepped out of the room to give her, her privacy. After a couple of minutes she emerged wearing a black pair of pants, a pink top and a white coat with matching boots. They said goodbye to and then entered the silver Volvo parked outside of the house. They drove to the carnival which was situated at the Pier. It was kind of cold so it was a good thing Cornelia had her coat on. They got out and made their way to the ticket booth where they bought two tickets. Once inside they decided to go on the _'Bumping Cars'_ but in this type of 'B_umping Cars'_ the difference was if they bumped numerous people they won _'Joker tickets' _and this went for all other games. So once they got enough tickets they could win any prize they wanted. They entered the rink and chose a stripped-blue car with the number 13 on it.

"Caleb, the number 13 is bad luck." Cornelia said as she made herself comfortable.

"No, it's not, we won the war against Phobos on Friday the 13th and I met you on Friday the 13th." He reassured her, he smiled at her and she smiled back. The bell dinged and Caleb stepped on the gas pedal, hard. He smashed into a rival couple, earning him 10 tickets. They took turns bumping people when finally their turn was over. At the end of the game they had a sack load of tickets.

"That was fun. Hey, let's go to the _'Crossbow target shooting'_ range." Caleb said as he led Cornelia to the big booth. They maneuvered themselves through the crowd as best they could.

"Sure, why not." Once there, she could see tons of big stuffed animals, most of which were panda bears, baby pigs and green frogs amongst other toys and posters.

"One, please." Caleb said as he got out a dollar.

"Make that two." She handed over her own dollar and smiled evilly at Caleb. She took off her coat for better comfort and set it on the table. The Game Operator handed them two bows and a set of arrows each. Caleb smiled as he saw Cornelia grab an arrow and set it in place, aim at the target and launch the arrow, which landed directly above the bull's-eye. "Top that!" She teased, she watched him closely to see if he had a better technique, which from her arrow, that was set in the target, was kinda impossible but he proved her wrong. He did actually have a better technique than her because he landed the arrow straight into the bull's-eye.

"I just did." He teased back. They kept launching arrows until there were no more. Naturally, Caleb won since he used to be an armature archer back in Meridian so that didn't surprise Cornelia. And besides, he liked a challenge. "So, seeing I'm such a great boyfriend, I'll let you choose a stuffed animal as an early Christmas present."

"Oh, you're so cute when you go all soft on me." She said which made his cheeks go a bit red, "Hmm…I kinda like that reindeer plushie."

"The reindeer plushie it is then." The Game Operator handed him the stuffed animal and said;

"Merry Christmas me good fellows." In a kind of piratey voice.

"Merry Christmas." they said in return. They started walking randomly through the crowd until Cornelia spoke up "Looks like it's getting colder by the second. Why don't we go and get some hot chocolate from that vender?"

"Sure, I am getting kinda cold." They made their way to the vender where they bought to piping hot cups of hot chocolate. It was getting kind of noisier there so they decided to go sit on the benches which gave a wonderful view of the sea. They spent a couple of minutes in silence only listening to the calming sound of the waves crashing on the beach while enjoying each other's company. Just then, a boy and a girl ran past them yelling and screaming with delight as the boy ran after his sister with seaweed, the girl just squealed more until she couldn't run anymore. Their parents walked hand in hand after them making sure they didn't get out of their sight.

This sight just brought a smile to the young couple's faces. "I just love kids," Caleb said and he played with Cornelia's hands.

"Me too. If I do manage to beat this battle…" she began saying but Caleb cut her off.

"Do _not_ say that, you will win. I'm gonna help you through it." He looked her in the eyes and saw them go misty.

"But if I don't, I just want you to know… I do want to have kids, preferably with you." She felt the warm tears make their way down her freezing cheeks.

"You will get better, I can feel it." Caleb said as he felt his own eyes water, he leaned in and gave her a soft lingering kiss. "Know that I too want to have kids with you, preferably a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes like yours."

"Or a boy with the same sense of humour you have." They spent the remainder of the night playing Carnival games, laughing and just having a great time. In the end, they cashed their _'Joker tickets' _and got a big brown teddy bear for Lillian. When it was time to go home they entered Caleb's Volvo and drove home.

**Christmas Day:**

The following morning was Christmas Day and Cornelia awoke special early. Her mother was already up having her coffee but Lillian was still snoozing in bed.

"Merry Christmas, mom." She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie." said.

"By the way, today we're eating at Caleb's 'cause he invited us over for Christmas dinner." She poured some 'Sugar Puffs' in the bowl and grabbed a spoon from the drawer.

"Even Lillian?" asked.

"Yeah, he said we can go at about noon. But I need to go in an hour 'cause I need to help him with dinner and stuff." Cornelia said as she spooned a spoonful of cereal.

"Oh, ok. I'll drive you there since you need to carry the gifts." Her mother said. Cornelia ate her cereal, got dressed and packed the presets in the back seat of her mother's car. Then she drove her to Caleb's house. Once there she saw Caleb waiting for them on the front porch.

"Hey, . Merry Christmas." He waved; he made his way over to the car to help Cornelia with the gifts and stuff.

"Merry Christmas. Do you need me to go and buy you some cranberry sauce or something?" She offered.

"There's really no need. See you later."

"Bye." She turned on the engine and drove back home. They went inside where they put the gifts under the Christmas tree. They entered the kitchen where they found Keira, Mark and Josh cooking. Caleb put a white apron on with the words _'I kiss better than I cook'_ and then handed Cornelia a pink one, she put it on and noticed hers had the words _'Kiss the chef but don't touch the buns' _she just couldn't help the smile that crept it's way across her face.

"Hey, Cornelia like the apron." Mark said with a smile.

"You better not touch the buns." Keira said warningly. Cornelia looked down at Keira's own apron and read _'Don't mess with the Chef'. 'Now that apron really suits Keira'_ she thought with a chuckle. Cornelia got busy stuffing the turkey with the help of Caleb, Keira and Mark peeled, washed and cooked the potatoes while Josh steamed the broccoli, Brussels sprouts and Cauliflower. At 11.30am dinner was ready so all they had to do was set the table, Keira placed the forks, Mark placed the knives, Josh and Cornelia made the napkins in a fan kind of way while Caleb placed the napkins in the center of the plates.

"Uh… Cornelia I just wanted to apologize for picking on you since we moved here. I'll try and be your friend if you'll have me." Josh said as he folded the last piece of his napkin.

"Oh, Josh you were always my friend, an annoying friend but a friend at the least." She folded the last napkin and passed it to Caleb. "Merry Christmas, Josh."

"Merry Christmas, Cornelia." Josh said as he gave Cornelia a hug. Just then the door bell rang. "That must be Lillian and your mother. I'll go get the door." They pulled apart and he got up to open the door. They heard little foot steps enter the dining room which belonged to Lillian, she went running into Caleb's open arms and gave him a hug.

"I missed you, Caleb." She said which brought a smile to everyone's face.

"Me too, Lillian." He lifted her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek which made her turn bright red. "Merry Christmas." Everyone let out a chuckle as they saw the bright red Lillian. He sat her down in her seat followed by everyone else but before they sat down, Caleb, Cornelia, Keira, Mark and Josh took off their aprons since they were dirty.

"Before we begin eating I wish to propose a toast." Caleb said, he raised his glass as did everyone else, "May this Christmas be the best Christmas yet and may the following year be full of joy and cheer. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" they said as they clanked their glasses with each other's glasses. Dinner was great and everyone was so full, that they felt kinda sleepy so after dinner they cleared the table and served dessert which was a Raspberry Christmas Cheesecake. They ate to their heart's content until it was time to open presents so they gathered in the living room where the presents were. First, Lillian opened her gifts and she got the big teddy bear Cornelia and Caleb got her, new Barbie dolls and a brand new Barbie doll house. She thanked them for the gifts and proceeded on to giving her big sister and Caleb her gifts.

"Here Caleb, this is from me to you. Hope you like it." Lillian said as she handed him the gift. He unwrapped it to reveal a new 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' video game.

"Wow, thank you. I really wanted this game." He lifted her up and gave her a hug and another kiss on the cheek which made her blush.

"You're welcome. Now this is for you Cornelia, I think you'll like it." She handed her sister the gift and waited for her to unwrap it. Cornelia unwrapped the gift and found a pair of red gloves and a red scarf with the gold lettering 'Best big sis'.

"I love it. Thank you." She lifted her up on her knees and showered her with kisses until she burst out giggling. Next on the list was , Cornelia and Caleb gave her a gift box filled with lotions, hand creams and raspberry scented shower gel while Cornelia and Lillian gave her the latest 'Charlie' perfume. After, was Josh who got presents, Keira gave him aftershave and the new David Beckham cologne while Caleb and Cornelia gave him a new IPod because he lost the last one he had. Keira got a new make-up set from Cornelia; Caleb bought her a new straightening iron while Mark gave her the whole series of 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S'. Mark got a new skateboard from Keira along with a new helmet and elbow pads.

Finally the only two were Cornelia and Caleb, Caleb got his presents first though. He got new joystick controllers for his Xbox from Josh, and Keira bought him the 'True Blood' Book series. Finally Cornelia gave him her gift.

"Now it's something small but I think it means a lot." She handed her gift to him and waited for him to unwrap it. Once unwrapped he found a charm bracelet with a heart as a charm. Engraved on it had, 'Be mine forever.' He put it on and gave Cornelia the tightest hug she'd ever received along with a small peck on the lips.

"Thank you, I really love it." He let go of her and got her, her present. "Open it with care, I think you're going to like it." She tore the wrapping paper to reveal a silver necklace having a pendent of a silver ice-skating boot. "When you saw it in the window last month I immediately knew you wanted it so the next day I went and bought it for you." She placed it around her neck and gave him the same treatment he gave her.

"Thank you, I love it." She said. Then, gave her, her gift which was Vance Michael Justin's whole movie collection; from Keira she got a curling iron while from Josh she got Avril Lavigne perfume. They spent the reminder of the day drinking egg nog and having a very happy Christmas.

**End of Chapter 7**

**Well, that's chapter 7 for ya hope you like it btw I don't know if Vance Michael Justin is the guy Corny likes just a wild guess. Well leave a review or 2 and merry xmas –xKrissyx---**


	8. Chapter 8

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**A/N:**** Hey, guys. I'm really sorry for the really late update but I started working as an apprentice and it's been really hectic. Uh…so enjoy this chappie and I hope you leave a review or 2.**

**Chapter 8:**

Christmas past and Caleb and Cornelia welcomed the New Year with new hope that the leukemia would go away. But that was getting a bit doubtful because Cornelia was in and out of the hospital a lot, the results weren't looking all that good and the worst part of all was that Cornelia was losing her honey blonde hair. Even though these all weren't good signs that she was getting better, she didn't let that get her down because she tried to be strong and continue to fight the leukemia.

On the 15th of January school at Sheffield Institute began once again and it wasn't long before everyone knew about what Cornelia was facing. Some were nice to her about it, some tried not to bring up the subject when Cornelia was in ear shot while others were really mean and cruel about it. A couple of months past and the beginning of April began and between 5th and 6th period on a Friday afternoon Cornelia was walking down the halls with Keira and Irma. She was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans, a white long sleeved tank top and to cover her falling hair she wore a stripped black and white beanie.

"I hope doesn't give us any homework." Irma complained, "I don't think I can take another truck load. I've barely recovered from the last one."

"Oh, stop complaining, he didn't give us _that_ much homework." Keira said.

"Are you kidding?" Jumped in Cornelia, "He gave us 3 essays, 5 exercises on the 'Presidents of the United States' and 2 reading comprehensions on Greek Mythology. Wouldn't _you_ count that as a truck load?"

"Fine, you have a point." As they made their way to room 264, they past Hayley and her gang of drones. She was, as usual, making fun of people including Cornelia.

"Hey, Petula what's your sign?" Hayley shouted, trying to make a scene. It worked and most of the halls were silent.

"Cancer." Petula said.

"Oh, really?" Hayley said with a wicked smile.

"No, my sign's Virgo, but she has it!" Petula pointed at Cornelia and the two burst out laughing. The two other Hayley drones didn't laugh but instead walked away finally figuring out how cruel the 'joke' was. It was kinda stupid taking into account everyone knew about her illness. But for some lame and stupid reason, they found it funny.

Cornelia could only take so much. These idiots have been tormenting her every day since school began and now it was the last straw. She felt her blood boil and her heart beginning to beat faster than normal. Irma and Keira sensed their friend's dismay and urged her to quicken her pace.

"Just keep walking, Cornelia." Irma said. Now Irma hated Hayley as much as Cornelia did, if not more, but she didn't want her beaten up in front of everyone and judging by Cornelia sudden glare, that could happen in a heartbeat.

"Try and block her voice out." Keira encouraged. But this wasn't working; Cornelia stopped dead in her tracks and faced Hayley dead on.

"Yeah, I've got Cancer. You got a problem with that?" Cornelia confronted her, "I may look frail and weak but mess with me when I'm in a bad mood, and you might get another meaning of the words weak and frail."

"O-oh yeah?" Hayley said, half afraid of the threat. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would. But I don't wanna see you wet your pants." At that moment, the 'Queen Bee' didn't look as much a Queen as she normally did. Instead she looked terrified beyond her wits (which judging by her grades, weren't a lot). And with that Cornelia spun on her heel and continued making her way to class leaving a gaping Hayley in her wake. Despite her burning cheeks and pounding heat, Cornelia felt good having told Hayley off, after all the time she had to listen to her snooty and snobbish remarks, she had finally beat Hayley at her own game.

The whole time Cornelia had been confronting the brat, the entire student body watched in astonishment and when it was over they had to restrain their sudden fits of giggles which made Irma and Keira, along with Cornelia, burst out laughing once in the classroom.

They were the first people to arrive in class and once students started settling in, they were all patting Cornelia on the shoulder for having told Hayley off. stepped in class and started the class immediately but all Cornelia and her friends could do was pass notes and smile. School was over before they knew it and once it was, they all made their way outside where one of Hayley's friends/by-stander talked to Cornelia. Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin and Keira continued walking giving the two some space.

"Hey, I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now."

"No, that would be Hayley." Cornelia corrected, barley looking at Sydney.

"Uh… I just wanted to say sorry for what Hayley did, it was just meant to be an April fool's joke, that's all." Sydney said.

"A cruel one for that matter." Cornelia said, still a bit pissed off.

"I know. I begged her not to go through with it but you know Hayley…" Sydney trailed off.

"Yeah, she's a bitch but hey we've all got our flaws." Sydney looked at the ground at this comment and remained silent. Cornelia sensed she was being a bit harsh on Sydney, and so tried to see better of the situation. "Uh… you should totally hang out with us sometime. I see you're not one of her mindless robots." She joked making Sydney give into a giggle.

"Sure. I'll catch you later. My mom's picking me up in a couple of minutes." And she made her way to the front of the school.

"Hey, Sydney!" Cornelia shouted, "Apology accepted." Sydney gave her a thumbs-up sign and went on her way. Cornelia caught up with her friends and started walking with them towards The Silver Dragon, their usual after school hang-out place.

"So, what did that mindless zombie want?" Keira asked.

"She's not a mindless zombie, she's actually…cool." Cornelia said, pausing to try and find the proper word.

"Hmm…I guess." Hay Lin said, "Hey, my mom made this raisin and banana cake wanna try it?"

"Uh…since when are you so interested in healthy stuff?" Will asked, Hay Lin was always eating junk food and take-out and this wasn't like her.

"I don't know. I'm trying to discipline myself into eating stuff I don't like." Hay Lin said, not making a big deal out of it.

"Ookaay… that's your typical Hay Lin for ya." Keira said, "Always unpredictable." Hay Lin glared playfully at Keira which made the gang laugh. They continued talking and joking until they got to The Silver Dragon where they began their homework and tasted 's raisin and banana cake.

"Whoa, this stuff is awesome!" Irma piped up once she devoured her piece of the cake.

"Yeah, who knew eating healthy could be so good." Will said.

"Well, it's a proven fact that eating healthy and exercising will help you live a happier life style." Taranee said. They all looked at her like she spoke Japanese. "What? I Google."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They finished their homework and it was time for Cornelia to go to her weekly check-ups so she bid her friends farewell and went off home. Once there she met up with her mother and together with Lillian they drove to Franklin Gibbs Memorial Hospital. When they got there they were escorted to an examining room where the doctor took some samples for the tests he needed to run.

"I'll be back with the results in a few minutes." The doctor said and then he disappeared through the door. The results usually took days to decipher but seeing Cornelia's situation needed fast results, it only took a couple of hours. So, they waited. Lillian was touching everything that shined while Cornelia sat on the examining table.

"I hope its good news this time." Cornelia said, half hearted, while swinging her legs like a 6 year old on a swing set.

"I'm sure it is, sweetie, we just need to be a little more patient." Her mother said. After a couple of minutes, which to them felt like an eternity, (And to the lamp in the corner, which Lillian kept pushing, it felt like it's light bulb was about to explode) the doctor came back with the results in hand.

"I'm back." Dr. Shay said. He examined the results and frowned. "Well, Cornelia, I'm afraid to say, you need surgery." He said glumly.

"B-but, I'm feeling better a-and you said, just last week that…" Cornelia chocked.

"Miss Hale, I know this can be shocking but a lot can happen in a week. Let me explain what's happening." He opened the folder in his hands and guided Cornelia and through it. "Your stem cells in the bone marrow are not co-operating with the chemotherapy you've been receiving and so they aren't producing any white blood cells, leaving your white blood cell count at this low number. For the bone marrow to get healthier and, therefore kill the cancer, you need a bone marrow transplant. This is a simple procedure where we harvest the healthy bone marrow from a willing and matching donor where we then take a sample which is then placed into your bone marrow." He paused giving Cornelia a few moments to understand what will happen.

"Well, that it isn't the least bit scary." She said sarcastically.

"I know it's a bit scary but it's a simple procedure. Now, I'd like to talk about the donor. We have our own types of donors but a family member may be the closest thing we need in your case." explained.

"I think I'm a match!" Mrs. Hale said, or the better words might be yelled. "My blood type's O positive just like her's. I may be a potential donor."

"Excellent. But we still need to have a sample of your blood." Dr. Shay said, "We need to be certain."

"Sure, whatever is needed." Mrs. Hale said while she sat Lillian down on a chair. He started taking a few blood samples.

"When's the surgery?" Cornelia asked, still in shock. She still couldn't believe people were going to cut into her body.

"In three days." He responded as he filled the last test tube with her mother's blood. "We need to operate as soon as possible."

"O-ok." She said as she looked at her mother with doubtful eyes. In return, she gave her an encouraging smile and a reassuring squeeze of the hand.

"That'll do." Dr. Shay said as he put a band-aid on the little wound on Mrs. Hale's arm. "I'll get these tested and once I get the results I'll come and get you guys." He jingled the tubes in the plastic bag and went out the room.

"I guess we have to wait again don't we." Lillian said as she crossed her little arms in front of her chest which made them laugh.

"Yes, we do." Cornelia said. They waited a couple of minutes, in awkward silence, until the doctor came back in with the results.

"Mrs. Hale, I happy to say you are a potential donor." Dr. Shay said making them all very happy. He then bid them goodbye and left leaving them alone. Cornelia then piped up saying; "I really hate getting this type of news. I thought I was getting better."

"Me too, honey, me too." Mrs. Hale said. "But I guess God has other plans for us."

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Cornelia spent the next couple of days packing for the stay at the Hospital, explaining and telling Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin and Keira including Josh and Mark about her upcoming surgery and trying not to get too freaked out about what was going to happen to her. But she left Caleb for last because she still didn't know how to actually tell him. While Mrs. Hale flew her mother out from California to take care of Lillian while she would be in recovery. California was only a couple of hours away from Heatherfield by plane, so there wasn't much time wasted for Cornelia's Grandmother to be in Heatherfield.

Cornelia walked in the park happily enjoying the sweet smell of the spring air. _'The only hard thing left to do now is tell Caleb.' _She thought as she sat on a bench under a blooming tree and dialed his number and waited for him to pick up. After a couple of rings he picked up.

"Hey, babe. How are you doing?" he said, and by the sound of it he was smiling _'And in just a matter of seconds he'll be worried.'_ Cornelia thought as tears welled up in her eyes and a lump formed in her throat.

"I'm fine." She sniffled.

"Are you crying?" His voice turned dead serious, "Where are you? I'll pick you up."

"I'm at the park." Cornelia said as she crossed her legs.

"I'm coming to get you. Stay where you are." And with that he hung up. _'How am I going to tell him?'_ she wondered. In couple of minutes she'd find out because she saw him make his way next to her.

"What happened? Are you all right?" he cupped her face with his hands and brushed away her tears with his thumbs. He pulled her into a warm hug and kissed her on the head.

"Caleb, I'm fine." She said as she breathed in the musky scent she grew to love. "But something did happen…."

"I knew it. What happened? Is it Hayley again?" he cut her off, "I swear to God I'll…"

"No, it's not her. Well… yesterday I went for my weekly check-ups and the results didn't turn out to be too good." She took a shaky breath and continued, "The doctor said I need surgery. I need a bone-marrow transplant and my mom's the donor, she's a perfect match."

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed, "I knew this wasn't good news. If you need anyone to take care of Lillian I can do it."

Cornelia managed a smile, he was so kind and loving, and she knew he'd understand. "My Grandmother's flying in from California this afternoon and she'll take care of Lillian while mom's in recovery."

"Cornelia, if there's anything you need me to do just ask."

"Thanks, all I need you to do is stay with me though the surgery."

"Of course, I promised you that from the beginning." Caleb said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. They spend the remainder of the afternoon on a park bench enjoying each other's company.

At 4 o'clock Caleb drove Cornelia home where he picked up Mrs. Hale and Lillian and drove them to the airport to pick up Cornelia's Grandmother. Once there he parked his silver Volvo in the parking lot and proceeded inside. Lillian was in Caleb's arms while Mrs. Hale and Cornelia talked behind them. They went to the arrivals section of the airport and took a seat where so many where aligned. Not that many people where there but your occasional business man and newlyweds would arrive from time to time and make their way outside.

"I'm going to buy Lillian a juice box. You guys want anything?" Caleb asked.

"No, thanks." They said. He made his way towards the vending machine with Lillian jumping up and down behind him.

"I wish I was still like her. All carefree and happy." Cornelia said miserably.

"She may seem that way but she's really worried about you." Her mother explained. "Just yesterday, before she went to bed she started crying because you visit the doctor a lot. She understands what's happening more than you could ever know." Just then, Lillian came back, happily sucking on a juice box.

"Want some? It's grape." She offered Cornelia.

"No, thanks. I'm not thirsty." She smiled. Lillian shrugged and took a seat beside her mother where she swung her legs up and down while Caleb sat next to Cornelia.

"You didn't have to drive us all the way here." Cornelia told him as she leaned into his strong chest.

"It's okay. As long as I'm with you it doesn't matter." He rested his head on hers and held her hand.

"Yes, Caleb, you certainly didn't have to drive us all the way here and you definitely didn't have to buy Lillian a juice box." Mrs. Hale handed the money for the juice box.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I have nothing better to do. Josh is out with his friends and Keira has a date so I'd just be alone at home if I weren't here. Plus, I consider Lillian family so I don't mind buying her stuff." He gave the money back and as soon as she was going to respond, Cornelia's Grandmother came into view. and Lillian greeted her first while Cornelia and Caleb stayed behind for a while.

"I hope she likes me." Caleb said feeling his hands getting sweaty. Since he never got to meet Mr. Hale, Cornelia's Grandmother was kind of like meeting Cornelia's father (Not that she looked like a man or anything). Meeting Mrs. Hale wasn't that different from the way he was feeling now but he was always nervous when meeting family members.

"Or course she'll like you. You're an amazing person. Now come on." Cornelia led the way. "Hi, Grandma."

"Oh, Cornelia, it's so nice to see you again." She gave her eldest granddaughter a hug. Once they pulled apart she took a look at Caleb and said with a smile; "And who is this handsome devil?"

"Grandma, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Caleb" Cornelia introduced them.

Caleb blushed and stuck out his hand, "Hi, Cornelia's Grandma."

She shook his hand and gave out a hearty chuckle, "Please, call me Beatrice."

"Ok, Beatrice. Shall we go home?" he asked feeling kind of uncomfortable calling her by her first name.

"Of course." Beatrice said. And so Caleb drove them home.

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Cornelia awoke as the first rays of morning crept their way through the Hospital curtains and woke her up. It was surgery day and she had barely gotten any sleep the previous night because she was afraid of having nightmares about what could go wrong during the surgery. Although it was a simple procedure, and there rarely ever were any fatalities during the sternal marrow (when the needle penetrates the bone), it still was a bit scary knowing there could be a risk were you couldn't wake up.

But after a lot of arguing with Caleb, he finally persuaded her into getting some rest. Caleb had gone with her to the Hospital and spent the night for extra encouragement. She looked to her right and found him sound asleep on a chair; she couldn't help the smile that crept its way across her yellowish face. He turned in his sleep which made the open book that lay across his lap fall to the ground with a soft thud. She sat upright, stretched and then got up. She kissed Caleb's stubbly cheek and then went to the bathroom. While she was in there Caleb opened his eyes to find an empty bed which made him stand up in less than a nanosecond. '_Where's Cornelia?'_ he thought in a panic, "I hope they haven't taken her in for surgery yet." He said out loud. "Cornelia!" he said.

"What?" Cornelia emerged from the bathroom with her IV tube/stand in hand, "I was in here the whole time. What is it?"

"Oh, thank God." He gave her a hug which probably forced the air out of her lungs. "I thought they took you in for surgery already." He led her towards the bed.

"No, that's not for another hour." She explained. "Shish, you worry too much."

"With reason." He helped her back in bed, "When you wouldn't talk to me I knew there was something wrong."

"You have a point there but seriously, you need to stop it." She covered herself and made herself comfortable.

"Fine, I'll try." He said. "You think your mom's up yet?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. She's an early riser."

"Certainly not like you." He teased.

"Ha-Ha" Cornelia retorted, "No, I get that from my dad." She said in a sad but yet happy voice. Caleb slid his hand in her open one and gave it a little reassuring squeeze.

"He's with you all the time." He replied trying to comfort her.

"I hope he wasn't there last week when we were in your car making out." She said with a smile, trying to make light about the circumstances.

"I hope not, I don't think he would have liked…"

"Ookaay, enough of this weird ghost presence while we're making out conversation." Cornelia said.

"Heh-heh, my point is, he's always with you." Caleb said with a hearty chuckle.

"I know." Cornelia said as her stomach gave a loud grumble. "Can you go get me a bagel?"

"I wish I could but the doctor said you can't eat anything because of the anesthesia."

"Please? Didn't you hear my stomach rumbling?" she begged.

"I did but the doctor said so." He sat up from the bed and made his way to the door. "I'll go get you a glass of water."

"Fine." Cornelia crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited for Caleb to come back. After a couple of minutes he came back with a glass of water where she drank it in a couple of big gulps. After a while Mrs. Hale walked in and kept them company until the doctor came to get them prepped for surgery. When they were put on a stretcher, he filled them in on what was going to happen.

"Well, first of all good morning." He said with a smile.

"Good morning." They said back as they were rolled to the operating theater.

"Now what will happen today is as follows: you will be under general anesthesia, and a needle like the one I'm holding is inserted into the cavity of your rear hip-bone where the largest part of the bone marrow is located." He showed them the needle which kind of looked like a bone itself and continued explaining, "Then it's extracted. But to do so we need to puncture the skin multiple times in order to get the desired amount."

"Will it hurt?" Cornelia said as they were rolled to the operating theater.

"You'll be sedated so it will only hurt after the surgery." Dr. Shay reassured. "The pain will be similar to that of a hard fall on the ice."

"So, it won't hurt at all since you're an ice-skater." Caleb said with a smile.

"Excellent." The doctor said, "Now for you , you can be discharged tomorrow night and you can fully resume all the normal activities in a couple of days. Just don't strain your body too much."

"Ok." Mrs. Hale said. They were driven a couple more meters until one of the nurses said;

"I'm afraid you can't cross this line, sir." She told Caleb as was rolled into the operating theater.

"Okay. So, I guess I'll see you later." He told Cornelia.

"See you later." She said with a smile. He leaned in and gave her a kiss and once they pulled apart she was taken away by the nurses leaving Caleb alone, fighting the urge to let the tears in his eyes roll down his cheeks.

Feeling like there was nothing else to do, he went to the waiting area where he slumped into a chair. Wishing he had something to pass the time he started flipping aimlessly through a magazine until he saw Keira make her way towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Caleb said, happy to have some company.

"I wasn't tired so I decided to pay Cornelia a visit." Keira said, "Where is she? Is she still asleep?"

"No, she just went in for surgery." Caleb said with a hint of sadness.

"Oh, man! I guess we came for nothing." Irma emerged from behind Keira, followed by Will, Taranee, Hay Lin, Josh. Caleb smiled, "Let me guess, you couldn't sleep and decided to pay Cornelia a visit?"

"No, I can sleep b-ouch…" Josh said as he was cut off Keira nudging him in the ribs, "But I knew it would be the right thing to do. I know she would do the same."

"Nice save." Irma whispered, Josh blushed and smiled coyly at her. They sat down and started talking about school, new movies, books just about anything to pass the time. Although Josh and Irma were caught whispering in each others ear and then they'd smile all goofy like, there was nothing worth while about waiting. And when they finally thought they couldn't take anymore, approached the gang; all dressed in his surgery overalls.

"I'm pleased to say, that everything went well." He said with a big smile. "There were no complications and it won't be long until you can see the patients." There were sighs of relief and everyone was smiling. Before long the group split up and went to visit Cornelia and her mother. They all went in one by one, first Keira, then Taranee, then Will and then Hay Lin. Caleb, Irma, and Josh visited Cornelia last.

Irma went in first and when she entered the room she found Cornelia awake but a little groggy. She took a seat next to her and spoke softly.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Sick." She said weakly but she managed to keep a smile on her face.

"It'll pass." Irma held her hand and continued, "You know you're my best friend, right?" Her eyes started tearing up and she couldn't help the lump forming in her throat. Cornelia gave a hearty chuckle and nodded.

"Why are you crying? I'm fine." Cornelia said in a raspy voice.

"It's just…seeing you like this…all weak. I mean, you're the earth guardian, you used to challenge me to see who's the best at bending, we used to fight over who beat the most bad guys and now you're like this." She sniffled.

"And I can still beat you at bending." She smiled. "I'm going to be fine; the doctor said the operation was a success so it won't be long until I can beat you in training, again."

Irma laughed and felt a bit better, "We'll see. Uh… I've got something to tell you about Josh."

"What did he do now? Did he fill my locker with frogs or something?" Cornelia joked.

"No, although he was considering filling it with mice but I talked him out of the idea." Irma said, already starting to get a bit red in the face.

"Oh, thanks I guess." Cornelia said, "Hey, wait a minute, what were you doing with him?" Irma remained silent for a few and started looking at her surroundings, like she always does when she's hiding something. "Oh, my gosh! You're dating him!"

"Kinda?"

"Irma, there's no 'kinda dating someone' it's either yes or no. Which one is it?"

"Yes, I'm dating him." Irma said, finally telling Cornelia what's on her mind.

"Irma, this is the guy who threw manticore dung at you just because he thought you smelled funny." Cornelia warned her.

"I know but, he's so dreamy." Irma said. "Besides, when he threw manticore dung at me he didn't know what coco-Chanel was so I don't blame him."

"Well, as long as you're happy, I see no harm in it." Cornelia said, "I can't believe you're dating him. He's so… ugh!" She pretended to shudder in order to tease Irma.

"He's not 'ugh'; he makes me feel all warm and fuzzy." Irma admitted.

"I'm happy for you." Cornelia said, just then, the nurse came in and told Irma that her time was up and a new visitor had to come in. They bid each other goodbye and Josh walked in (giving Irma a smile as she slide past him).

"Hey, how're you doing?" Josh said as he sat on a near-by chair.

"Fine, which means the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet." She joked.

Josh let out a laugh and sat cross legged. "Did it hurt when they drilled into your bones?" Josh said. _'That's Josh for ya!'_ Cornelia thought with a smile.

"Kinda, the drilling freaked me out and when they extracted the bone-marrow I felt I would die." Cornelia said.

"Oh, I see. Well, at least that part's over and done with right?" He said, Cornelia nodded. "Uh…I need to tell you something, about Irma." Josh said, "Irma and I…"

"Are dating? I know, Irma told me." Cornelia said.

"When?"

"Just now."

"Oh, damn it! I told her I wanted to tell you." Josh said, "I didn't want you thinking I'm going behind your back, that's all. I know we're not 'the best of friends'."

"Hey, it's cool, just don't hurt her." She warned. "'Cause if you do, I'll do more than just fling you across the street."

"I don't know if I should laugh or pee in my pants." He joked. They spent the next fifteen minutes talking when it was Caleb's turn to visit her. Caleb walked in and engulfed Cornelia with kisses and hugs which made her giggle uncontrollably.

"I thought I was gonna lose you." He laid his head gently on her lap.

"Me too." She said as she kissed his head. "How's mom? Is she awake yet?"

"Barely, she could hardly open her eyes but she's fine." He reassured, "Probably the anesthesia hasn't wore off yet."

"Probably." She said.

"Hey, Hay Lin wanted me to give you this." Caleb pulled out a scrapbook. "She couldn't give it to you when she was visiting because Taranee was still putting the final touches. They couldn't give it to you together seeing as the nurse wouldn't let us all in together. It's from all of us."

She pulled it close and admired the leafy texture it had. Her guardian symbol was etched on the top part of the cover along with an embroidered woodland fairy. It was beautiful! She flipped through the pages where she found pictures Hay Lin took before and after Cornelia got sick. It was like a novel, divided into chapters; their friendship, pulling pranks on each other (these pictures simply oozed Josh and Irma) holidays, days to remember (like going to water parks, bowling etc), school trips they took together, trips they took to Meridian, Cornelia Ice-skating, family gatherings (these were photocopied from family albums) trips to the Hospital and the last chapter consisted of Cornelia and Caleb. There were tons of pictures, beginning from the first couple of days they started dating. On the last page they all wrote something addressing Cornelia. She read it slowly in order to savor the moment.

Caleb saw Cornelia's face light up as she flipped through the pages and felt all his worries melt away. Once she was done looking at the scrapbook she faced Caleb and said;

"Thank you, it's beautiful." Her eyes were tearing up but she didn't care, she was just so happy. "This must have taken you guys ages to put together."

"Yeah." Caleb smiled, "But seeing your reaction was worth it."

**End of Chapter 8**

**Well, it's finally finished. I know I ended it kinda cheesy but it's 3:30am and I'm really tired. So I want to thank my best friend Blossom-flower92 for helping me when I had that damn writer's block and for just plain being there: D, I also want to thank all those people who left me a review. Also, I know the part where the doctor was explaining the procedures was a bit too umm… "Scientific" if you may, but I just wanted you guys to know what was going on. So, that's it for now stay tuned. –XKrissyX—**

**P.s. REVIEW!**

**P.s.s. I don't know why the heck Mrs. Hale and Dr. Shay aren't showing up on this document.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Remember me When I'm Gone**

**A/N: Hey, guys. How ya been? Once again, me apologies. I want to thank all who reviewed and for being patient. I know it's been over 2 years and for that I am truly sorry. But enough of my groveling, on with the story. **

**Chapter 9:**

Two days past after the surgery and Cornelia was finally able to go back home. Mrs. Hale was sent home a day after surgery and she felt just fine apart from the usual jolt of pain from time to time but the doctor said that was normal for donors. Cornelia's Grandmother was still staying with them because Mrs. Hale still needed some help looking after Lillian. It was 5:15pm and Cornelia was in the hospital room doing some last minute packing, hopefully she wouldn't be back here for a very long time. It had taken her 45 minutes just to pack everything since she could barley move, was still sore and couldn't breathe as easily. All side effects of the surgery. The doctor said that if she wanted to stay the two extra, recommended days it was all up to her but she just wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. Caleb was going to pick her up in about 15 minutes since her mother was in no position to drive so she was just making sure she packed everything.

With one last look around the room, she zipped-up her duffel bag and heard a knock on the door. Having her back facing the door, she said, "Come in." When there was no response, she spun around and found Hayley standing by the door, holding a package in one hand and an envelope in the other.

"What do _you_ want?" Cornelia said coldly. "I don't know how the nurses let you in here and I don't wanna know how you managed to manipulate them, but if you're here to mock me…"

"No, it's not that." Hayley said, cutting her off, "I just came to apologize."

"For what, huh? For publically humiliating me? For making fun of me?" Cornelia picked up her bag from the bed and angrily dropped it on the floor, partly because she wanted to relieve the anger she felt inside and partly because it was heavy.

"For everything." Hayley said barley a whisper, "For mocking you, for spreading the rumors, for everything." She placed the package on the desk and added, "These are for you by the way."

"Huh, well guess what? It's a little too late for that now" Cornelia said, After all the things she did to her, after all the torment she'd received, did she really expect to be that easily forgiven?, "I've already been humiliated." She said, calmly.

"Look, Cornelia I understand that you're upset…" Cornelia scoffed but let her go on, after all, she wanted to know what sick game she was playing at. "But after what I did, after I mocked you in front of the whole school, that night I lay awake thinking about how horrible I was. I was mean and selfish and… cruel and because of that I truly am sorry."

"Huh? The leader of the cheerleading squad lay awake for actually tormenting someone?" Cornelia said, "Am I really supposed to believe that?"

"I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." She spun around and headed for the door, where she bumped into Caleb. He scowled at her but didn't say a word.

"What was _she_ doing here?" Caleb said as he kissed her lovingly.

"You won't believe this." Cornelia said with a scoff, "She actually came to _apologize_. Can you believe that?"

"Really?" He noticed the package and the envelope, "Did she bring these too?"

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna open them." Cornelia said as she picked them up.

"Why not? It's not like she's Phobos' evil cousin sent here to blow you up." He said with a smile.

"Ok, that's not even funny considering the things he's done."

"Fine, point taken. But what if they're chocolates?"

"So what 'if they're chocolates'?"

"So… I'm hungry." Caleb said with a smile.

"Fine, open them." She rolled her eyes and gave him the package, smiling as he tore it open. It was in fact, chocolates, which he devoured in about 5 seconds. Cornelia sat in the wheelchair while Caleb picked up the duffle bag. "Come on, lets' go home. I wanna get as far away from this place as possible!" Caleb nodded and wheeled her to the parking lot, all the while chewing the peanut butter cluster balls which he left for last. Once there he helped her into the passenger seat. She tried to buckle the seatbelt but since her hands where shaking, thanks to the surgery, she ended up fiddling with it instead. When he saw she was having trouble buckling the seatbelt, he helped her and that's when she snapped.

"I can do this myself Caleb, thank you." She said, her hair covering half her face making her look a bit tormented. By the looks of it, having shaky hands wasn't a good thing in Cornelia's book.

"Obviously you can't since you're hands are sha…" She shot him a death glare which made him stop in mid-sentence. He knew that look all too well, a look that meant 'Say one more word and you'll regret it.' "Fine. I just don't know why you're so stubborn all of a sudden."

She let out a shaky sigh and said, "It's nothing."

"Is this about the chocolates?" He asked.

"No, it's not about the chocolates. Seriously, I couldn't care less about that, it's just…" She said, but thought better of reveling the real truth about why she was all moody, "…nothing." Caleb shrugged and went to place the wheelchair in the trunk, he knew better than to keep pressing on a subject she didn't want to talk about. When Caleb was out of sight, Cornelia looked at her hands and as she feared, saw that they were still trembling. She clenched them into fists when she saw Caleb enter the car, at an attempt to try and make it stop. '_I hope this isn't some long term effect._'she thought, fearfully. He started looking at her funny.

"What?"

"Uh… Cornelia, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She nodded her head a yes and he continued, "So, why won't you tell me what's bothering you? Is it Hayley? Did she say something that upset you? Maybe I can help."

"That's just it. I'm sick and tired of people always wanting to help the 'sick girl'." She said 'sick girl' like it was a bad thing. Like it was her fault she was sick. "I can't walk two steps without someone coming to hold my hand. As if I can't walk." She said with a scoff. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and all but… sometimes it's just too much. Like for instance, I can't take a bath by myself without any help." He started smiling a perverted smile and opened his mouth as if to say something which, at that moment, he thought was funny but that just angered Cornelia even more. "Don't, just don't." She said with a warning like he was a child, "It's not funny." She took a shuddering breath in order to calm herself down, it was all she could do to stop herself from screaming or bursting into tears.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know it's not appropriate." He said, trying to compose himself and when he suddenly turned serious he said, "Listen, I know how you feel, when I broke my leg I…"

"No, Caleb, you don't!" Cornelia said, cutting him off, "This isn't like the time you broke your leg. You only had your cast on for a couple of weeks and you were fine but I've been sick for months now and I can't take it. I've been visiting the hospital every other week, like it's some 'cool' place to hang out. And I'm sick and tired of it. At least when you broke your leg you weren't throwing up every night and having the worst possible headaches." An awkward silence fell between them and all Caleb could do was stare at her, trying to find the words to make her feel like herself again, before she got sick, before all this tension started to build between them, tension he had no control over, tension he had no idea how it came to be between them. But he knew that in the last few months some sort of weird tension had started to grow, and he could do nothing about it, the same kind of tension you get when repeatedly rubbing 2 pieces of wood against one another for a long period of time. In the end it can only result in 1 option; fire and by the looks of Cornelia's out bursts, it finally gave flame. He sighed and turned the key in the ignition, the engine purred and they sped on home.

The ride home was strangely long considering it only took 15 minutes from the hospital to Cornelia's house. Partly because no one talked, fearing it would spark up those strange anxious feelings once more and partly because there was nothing to say. Although the silence was a bit reassuring, making sure they were on the same page, it was still a bit nerve wrecking. Once they got home, Caleb parked his Silver Volvo in the drive-way and killed the engine. He got out, went to the trunk and took out Cornelia's wheelchair. He brought it to the passenger's side and was considering helping her out the car and into the chair she despised so much, but when she opened the door and got out by _herself_, he knew it was a bad idea. She started making her way to the door and when he noticed she was wincing, so he went by her side. "Cornelia, stop resisting my help, you're just making it worse. You're in pain, I can see that. Just let me wheel you to the door then you can walk inside." He said as he tried to grab her arms, trying to be as gentle as possible as not hurt her. "The doctor said to take it easy for the past few days."

"I know but I'm fine." She said, shoving his hands away.

"Can't you see you're hurting yourself?" He said, trying to reason with her but she was just as stubborn as a mule.

"I can do this myself, Caleb." If she could walk, she'd make it to the door, and_ then_ she could lie in that accursed chair.

"Fine!" He stormed his way back to the car, took out her bag and slammed the doors. _'Great, now I've upset him.'_ Cornelia thought, as he passed by, having the wheelchair in one hand and the bag in the other. He opened the door on his own and once inside they found the living room shrouded in darkness. Cornelia searched for the light switch and that's when everyone jumped up from their hiding place and shouted: "SURPRISE!"

Cornelia looked totally flabbergasted while Caleb just sat the wheelchair and the big duffel bag down on the floor, trying not to meet her gaze. Since leaving the hospital she smiled for the first time. By the looks of it, Caleb or her mother, she wasn't sure, invited everyone; Will, Matt, Irma, Josh, Taranee, Nigel, Keira, Mark, Hay Lin, Eric which was Hay Lin's new boyfriend, and of course Mrs. Hale, Lillian and Cornelia's Grandmother where there as well. All the close people in her life. They also decorated the house a little bit; there was a big banner in the middle of the living room which read "Welcome Back Home", completed with balloons of every shape and color, multi-colored streamers hung from the walls and the ceiling and a snack table was set up at the far right side of the room, having a whole array of snacks and drinks. The sofa was placed right up against the wall so as to make room for the guests.

They all rushed to give her a gentle hug and all Cornelia could do was smile. When they pulled apart, they all started talking about how good she was recovering and how good it was that she was getting so much better. They talked to each other and when it got kind of quiet Lillian decided to turn on the stereo.

Irma made her way to where Cornelia was sitting and said; "Hey, how have you been feeling? I heard the surgery was a success."

"Yeah, it has, but I'm still pretty sore and I keep having these tremors." She said, looking at her hands that were holding a cup of punch fearing she'd start spilling punch all over her mother's sofa. "They just come and go, you know?"

"Maybe it's the anesthesia wearing off. I bet it's normal for leukemia patients," she said, trying to ease her friend's mind although she knew that the anesthesia wears off right after surgery but she was no doctor so she had no idea what they meant.

"Yeah, I guess." She said, not that all confused about the situation. Then she remembered that Irma was dating Josh which made her want to tease Irma a bit. "So, you're dating Josh, huh? How's that been going? Is he a romantic lover?" She said with a smile, finally Irma had a 'stable' boyfriend. She was always the one who dated boys for kicks but now she finally found someone who she really wanted to be with, or that's what she thought anyway and she was happy for her.

She turned bright red and after nervously drinking what was in her cup said, "Uh… well… so far, it's going great." Having a big smile plastered across her face. "I never noticed, he was so sweet and kind. Last night he showed up at my house with roses, it was so romantic, if only my little brother didn't open the door."

"Really? I guess he only showed those signs to you since he was always busy pranking me." She said with a chuckle, not that she expected him to show up with roses at _her_ house, that would be weird considering they didn't get along _and_ he was her boyfriend's brother.

"Yeah, I've talked to him about that. He said that he swore to Keira, and me, that he'd stop." Irma said. "By the looks of it, she has already spoken to him about that,"

"FINALLY, my locker will be free from green slimy goo!" She said, excitedly. Irma burst laughing at the comment and that's when Josh came and sat beside her.

"What's so funny?" He said.

"You." Irma said as she looked at him. "You've got frosting all over your chin." Apparently, he had eaten a cupcake and smeared his chin with purple frosting; she wiped it off with a napkin and gently kissed him.

"Hm… I should get frosting on my chin more often." He teased as he leaned in and kissed her again while putting his arms around her.

"Ohhkay, I'm not really used to you guys making out _just yet_, so I'll leave you two alone." Cornelia said with a smile and got up from the couch, "Just don't leave stain marks on my sofa," she laughed and walked to where Keira and Mark where standing.

"Hey, how are you?" Keira said.

"Kinda sore and my back hurts from time to time but otherwise a lot better than last week." She said with a smile, she felt like she was bitching about her surgery when someone asked her how she felt but what was she to do.

"Well, that's expected considering it's only two days after the surgery." Mark said.

"Yeah, the doctor said I would be sore for a couple more days." She said. She looked to where Caleb was standing and noticed that he was talking to Eric, he was Hay Lin's new boyfriend. Taranee and Hay Lin both started dating Nigel and Eric at about the same time so they were kind of new to the group but Eric hadn't quite been introduced to the group until a couple of weeks ago. _'I wonder why he's ignoring me?'_ she thought, _'Maybe it's because I snapped at him back at the hospital parking lot. Why do I act like a bitch sometimes?' _she wondered.

She saw Hay Lin steal Eric away from Caleb and make their way to Keira and Mark. Leaving Caleb picking at the food he piled on his plate, by the looks of it, he wasn't having as much of a good time as Cornelia was. Nigel walked over to the snack table and started making small talk with him as he nibbled on a cracker. Obviously, he was ignoring her but she decided to leave him alone for a few more minutes, if her suspicions where right, he needed time to cool off. Hay Lin and Eric talked for a few minutes with Keira and Mark and when it finally got painfully silent Will, Matt and Taranee made their way next to them.

"Hey Cornelia, you feeling ok?" Will said as she laced her fingers through Matt's.

"Not that bad, considering they tore open my back." She said, trying to lighten the mood but they all just didn't know what to say so they just nodded and silently drank their drinks.

"I kinda know how you feel. When I was 11 years old I had to have knee surgery because of a soccer injury." Eric said, "So, it kind of feels like they invaded your body."

"Exactly." Cornelia said with a smile. They continued talking until she saw that Caleb was finally alone and that's when she excused herself and made her way to the snack table. She gently nudged him but he barely looked her way and that's when she pulled him into the kitchen, trying to get as much privacy as possible. She wanted to know why he was acting all weird.

"What?" Caleb said, clearly annoyed. His emerald-green eyes now turned a darker shade of green, like they always did when he was mad or irritated.

"Was the party your idea?" She said with a smile, trying to figure out what his problem was but decided not to ask him, it would just anger him more. Maybe it _was_ because of her out burst in the car, but all she could do was guess.

"Yeah, sorry it's so painful to sit there and have people adore you." He said, or the proper term was yelled, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and tried not to meet her eyes.

"What? Who ever said I liked being adored? And by the way I was going to _thank_ you for throwing the party!" She yelled back, and at that moment, the CD player in the living room chose that brilliant moment to break down, so everyone was now listening to the fight. "I was having a good time when I noticed you were ignoring me!"

"Oh, really? You were gonna thank me? Was refusing my help when you were in pain a way of thanking me too?" Caleb said, letting his emotions get the better of him, this rarely happened but today was one of those days. It really hurt him to see her in pain and when she refused his help it angered him more.

"I was just sick of people always treating me like the injured rag-doll. Always dragging me here and there, telling me what to do, choosing what to do for me. " She said, feeling her eyes burn and her throat tighten _'I can't believe we're having this fight, right here in my kitchen. With a party going on in the other room' _she thought cynically. She swallowed the tears and continued, "For once, I wanted to do something on my own."

"You always _do_ stuff on your own!" He said, throwing his hands in the air. He circled the island and stopped when he was just opposite of her, resting his hands on either side of the corners. "You even broke up with me just because you thought you could do it on your own. Which may I add, was stupid."

"Yeah? Well sorry for trying to protect you!" Cornelia said as she burst through the kitchen door trying to get away from the clueless fight but Caleb was hot on her heels. She spun around furiously with tears in her eyes, throwing her hands in the air and said, "Sorry for trying to give you a chance at a _NORMAL_ relationship!" He stopped dead in his tracks as if she just jabbed him in the gut, and just stared at her, taking a moment to notice her. She had tears streaming down either cheek and her eyes were pink, clearly, it really must have hurt her to have broken up with him but he had never really taken it into account at how she had taken it, how much it had hurt _her _or how she coped with it afterwards. '_She must really love me if she went through all that pain for my well being.'_ he thought. She sniffled and when he made a step towards her in order to comfort her, she stormed up to her room, with incredible speed taking into consideration that she just had surgery the previous two days.

Caleb just slumped his shoulders and looked at the guests. They were shocked and kind of embarrassed to have witnessed such an intimate fight between them. And at that moment the CD 'magically' got unstuck and continued on playing _'The ring of Fire'_ by Johnny Cash "Umm…sorry you had to see that." He said, while apologetically rubbing his neck.

"Well, that was a quick party!" Lillian said. Her mother gave her a stern look as if to say 'stop it' which made her slide off the couch and onto her Grandmother's lap where she thought she was safe.

Cornelia lay on her bed, having her face buried in a pillow, crying her eyes out. _Where did that fight come from? Did Caleb really think she liked being adored? Had she angered him by her outburst earlier? _All these questions ran through her mind but sadly, she didn't know any of the answers to them. She grabbed a teddy bear that was lying on a chair beside her bed and aimlessly threw it against her wardrobe door trying to lessen her frustration, it was after she threw it that she felt the all familiar sting in the lower part of her back. She clutched her pillow against her face, almost tearing at the seams, and tried to stifle a scream but it was no use, it was scream to lessen the pain or just let it pass. So, she chose to scream and that was when she heard a knock on the door. "GO AWAY!" she yelled, not knowing if it was her mother or Caleb. But knowing Caleb, he wouldn't give up that easily.

"Cornelia, _please_ let me come in." Said Caleb's muffled voice.

"NO!" She grabbed a text book and threw it at the door, which left a noticeably big indentation right in the center of the door. Again, she felt as if her back was being torn into, but this time it was worse and that's when she screamed again. When she finally thought he gave up, the door swung open to reveal his pain stricken face. _'I should've locked that door'_ she thought, she didn't want to deal with it just yet. Clearly, he came to his senses and knew he didn't mean most of the words he said.

"The guests left so we can talk…Cornelia, I'm sorry." He said as he approached the big double bed he sometimes slept in. She could see in his eyes that he regretted picking the fight. "I'm sorry I was ignoring you but…"

"I don't wanna hear it." He knelt beside her bed and grabbed her hand which she thought of pulling back but the touch of his skin against hers made her forget about the idea.

"Just hear me out." He said in a calm voice. When she didn't utter a word he took it as a sign to talk, "All I wanted to do was help you, to lessen the pain you were feeling, I don't like seeing you in pain or being hurt and I just wanted to make you feel better." He caressed her hand with his thumb and that's when her face softened. "When you pushed me away it really angered me, especially when I saw you cringe when you move. At that moment, I just wanted to help you even more." He took a lungful of air and continued, "But when you said you didn't need my help that's when I snapped. I felt underappreciated, that all I did was worthless."

"I didn't say I didn't need your help." Cornelia said, defensively.

"You didn't _say_ it, you _showed_ it." Caleb said, "What I don't get is _why_ you got all stubborn all of a sudden." When he saw her anger had lessened he climbed up on the bed next to her, both sitting cross legged.

"Well, ever since the surgery I've had these tremors and I just… I don't know, I felt defenseless I guess. Having people do everything for me isn't my kind of thing." She said as she looked deep into his gorgeous emerald-green eyes. "I guess I got sick of it. The trips to the hospital, the chemo… the teasing." She said, referring to Hayley, he got the hint and she felt him stiffen but he quickly relaxed. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. She pulled him closer to her, running her hands through his hair and just loving the way he smelt. When they pulled apart she said, "Did you really think I liked being adored?"

He took a deep breath and thought about what he really meant when he said it, "No, I just said that because I was mad. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean any of it." Caleb said as he turned to lie on his side. "Well, maybe I did mean some of the words I said. Like, I meant that the break up was stupid but that's all."

She smiled, knowing that he was right. After a few seconds of silence she said, "How did we let it get _this_ out of control? I mean, we used to talk everyday about our how we were feeling and now it just kind of exploded all of a sudden." Slowly lying down on her back looking at the ceiling, having her arms spread around her.

"Well, I think we were both worried about the upcoming surgery and we just let it build inside us." He said, playing with his jacket zipper, a few moments passed and that's when he spoke again, "Did you really break up with me so that I could have a chance at a normal relationship? Were you really trying to protect me?" It took her a couple of minutes before she spoke;

"Yeah, I mean, how can having a sick girlfriend _be_ normal? I know it would be hard having a sick girlfriend, you know, driving her to chemo therapy, staying up when she's too sick to sleep. I know it would have been hard seeing you around with another girlfriend, especially if it was Hayley but if it would have made you happy…" She let the sentence trail off, while fiddling with the bedspread lace, having her frown turn into a grin, "And, yes, I was trying to protect you from the reality that if I died… well…you know… you wouldn't have to go through the horrible pain of having someone you love die. I know how it feels by having my dad pass away and it's not something I'd like anyone to experience first hand." He grabbed her by the shoulders and enveloped her in a hug while kissing her head lovingly.

"Oh Cornelia, don't you know that the only normal relationship I can have is with you? And so what if you're sick? You're getting better, I can just see it in you eyes." He grinned, "Those beautiful aquamarine eyes, I would never get fed up looking into." He said half to himself making Cornelia smile. "By breaking up with me you weren't protecting me, you just ended up hurting me more, when we weren't together I was miserable everyday, did you know that night we broke up I got drunk and Keira and Josh had to drag me up to my bed?" he said, half embarrassed, half wanting her to know the truth about what happened when they weren't together.

"Really? I wouldn't have imagined you as the drinking type." She teased.

"I'm not, but you know." He said, clearly uncomfortable about the way he acted.

"By the way, I _do_ appreciate you, more than you'll ever know." She said with a smile, noticing that there was nothing wrong between them, they just needed a moment to talk, catch up on their feelings. "And everything you do is never done for nothing." They both smiled. He leaned in and she did the same, and when their lips finally touched the world just melted away. All that existed were just the two of them. He gently nudged her lips apart and she happily co-operated. She smiled and slipped her tongue inside his mouth. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her even closer but once he gave in deeper into the kiss a vibrating noise could be heard coming from the dresser. It was Cornelia's mobile which she grabbed on the 5th vibration all the while kissing Caleb. She pulled apart and flipped it open, he continued by kissing her neck making her giggle uncontrollably. She had gotten a text message from Irma reading:

_Are you ok? You seemed pretty upset when you stormed off to your room :-(_

She texted back, still having Caleb gently kissing her neck, saying: _I'm ok now, it was all just a stupid fight. Sorry to have ruined you night :-)_.

As soon as she sent the message, Caleb's _own_ mobile started blaring _'What's this'_ by Fall out boy, apparently Cornelia changed his ringtone again, he stopped kissing her and fished it out of his pocket and pressed _answer_. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" Keira said, clearly on the verge of hysteria.

He knew that sound all too well which made him snigger. Whenever she was worried about something or someone, she'd always be in full-panic mode. "I'm still at Cornelia's."

"THANK GOD!" she yelled, he heard the crunching of leaves and the rustle of the wind which suggested the thought she was walking, "He's still at Cornelia's." She said to someone else.

"Why did you yell in my ear and who are you talking to?"

"Because the last time you and Cornelia fought like that, I'm only imagining that the last fight you had was something like that, you ended up drunk and passed out on your bed. And we had to hull your heavy ass up the stairs which I do not want a repeat of." She said, which made him blush. "And I'm with Irma."

"Huh, figures, she just sent Cornelia a text, didn't she?" Mouthing the words 'Its Keira and she's with Irma' to Cornelia as she was looking at him oddly.

"Uh, can you blame us?" She said clearly annoyed.

"No, not really. Now that my check up is up can I get back to making out?"

"Ok, I didn't need to know what you were doing. Just needed to find out if you're ok." Keira said. "Well, see you at home. Bye"

He hung up and then slipped his phone back in his pocket. "She just needed to know if I was alright." He told Cornelia

"And you most certainly are." She crawled on top of him and kissed him slowly, savoring the taste of sea salt, again, suggesting the thought that he ate a couple of potato chips before hand.

He in return, responded by slowly making his way down towards her nape, she smiled and let out a giggle when he playfully nibbled at her neck.

She leaned back, allowing him access to do as he pleased. Letting him know she was enjoying every moment of their make-out session. He heard her give a low moan and considered it as his cue to run his hands under her shirt, giving her goose bumps where he touched. He slid his hands upwards stopping only when they were under the strap of her bra. He knew that she was smiling and could only think of how he loved the feel of her body heat spreading into his hands. It was as if he could read her mind and it was saying 'do it.' with a menacing smile, he unbuckled her bra clasp and cupped one of her breasts which made her nipples stand on end. This was pure ecstasy.

She closed her eyes and just enjoyed his touch, she felt his chest vibrate as he gave into a low growl and couldn't help the smile that crept its way across her face. She didn't know where this sudden urge had come from but she suddenly wanted him pressed hard against her. At that time and moment, she didn't feel like a leukemia patient and she certainly didn't feel like she just had surgery, she felt like her old self again. She felt like the old all-powerful Guardian of the Veil. She hadn't felt like this in ages so she hungrily fumbled with the two buttons of his shirt, having her knuckles graze softly against impenetrable muscle.

Caleb knew where she was going with this notion and happily met her half way; he tucked his head quickly under his shirt, slid his arms expertly through the sleeves and threw the shirt at one side.

This made Cornelia reach an all new level of high; she slid the palms of her hands all over his rugged chest which seemed to send shockwaves of pleasure through her whole being. She could feel that he had been sexually awoken just by the feel of his man-hood, pressing hard against her thigh. While he passionately kissed her, she unbuckled his belt but stopped when she heard him take a sharp intake of breath, she saw that he was breathing heavily but he didn't protest the least bit so she took it as a sign to continue, she unbuttoned his Levis and was about to slip her hand inside when he grabbed her and in a husky, winded voice said, "Cornelia, we can't do this, not after just two days after your surgery."

She managed to free one of her hands from his grasp and placed it on his bulging erection. He let out a raspy sigh and placed a hand behind him in order to steady himself.

"I don't care about that," She, seductively smiled while toying with him, "I want to feel you in…

She stopped in mid-sentence as the bedroom door burst open revealing Lillian, who joyfully skipped inside, holding a stuffed bunny rabbit. Caleb scrambled from underneath Cornelia, as gently as he could, while zipping his opened fly. Once he did, he managed to regain his breath.

"What 'cha doin'?" She said while holding her stuffed toy by the ears and dangling it.

"Uh… we uh…" Caleb said, crossing his legs to try and hide what Lillian was so young to see. When she saw him stutter she remembered why she was sent to her sister's room and said; "Mom wanted to see if you two were all right."

"Oh, w-we are." Caleb said, still startled by Lillian's sudden appearance, he quickly grabbed his shirt which was lain askew on the floor. Cornelia, who by her sister's unexpected manifestation jumped so quickly off the bed she felt dizzy, went in front of her and said;

"Didn't you ever learn how to knock?" Without a doubt, annoyed how she had just destroyed such a special moment. This had happened twice before, and in both those moments it got spoilt. Either by the ringing of a doorbell or by the knock of a door and in these cases, it was always her mother.

"I…" Lillian began but was stopped in mid-sentence by Cornelia shooing her through the door.

"I don't wanna hear it. Just tell mom we're fine, she can stop worrying." She closed the door in her sister's face and turned to face Caleb which no longer was bare chested.

He slumped on the bed and ruefully rubbed his face with the heels of his hands. "That was close." He said through his hands. Cornelia let out a frustrated sigh and sat next to him. She clasped her bra strap back together and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm glad it was your sister instead of your mother. Your sister may have thought we were playing some sort of… game but your mom is not that clueless." Caleb said with a nervous chuckle. He rested his arms behind his head and just felt his body relax. A minute ago, he felt like he was going to burst at any moment.

"Yeah." She smiled weakly. She thought about what she would have done if it was her mother instead of her sister who had burst through the door, or worse, what if it was her grandmother? She would be mortified. She couldn't simply explain what they were doing, at one point or another in their lives, they probably did the same thing, or something like it.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Came Caleb's voice, he sat up and gently placed a hand on the small of her back having the other one grab hold of one of her hands.

"Nothing." She whispered, placing her right hand on his. He gave her a look that suggested 'I know better'. "I'm just mad at my mom for ruining the moment." She confessed.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds and smiled, "Don't worry, we'll have more moments like that in the near future." This seamed to lighten her mood because she crawled over a pillow, which was separating them, straddling his lap. His arms circled her petit waist, locking her against him, and she delightedly snuggled into his muscular arms. He smiled, loving the warmth she was emitting from her body. Cornelia then slid her hands up his perfectly sculpted chest, grasped him behind the neck and whispered something mischievous in his ear, trying to get him in the mood again. She knew he was smiling but sensed that it was no use; she could feel his sexual drive grow weaker and weaker. She had read some where that it was difficult for men to have two erections in such a short period of time, or in Caleb's case, after a scare like that, so she gave up on the idea of getting him aroused and changed the subject.

"I was thinking…" She began

"About how sexy I am even when I'm caught off guard?" He said teasingly.

She playfully hit him and laughed. "No, not about that, I was thinking about Hayley."

"Seriously?" He questionably replied, "You're standing on top of me and you're seriously thinking about her?" He playfully teased.

"Ok, I'm getting off of you now." She answered as she slid off him.

"Ok I'll be serious." He turned on his side and just listened.

"I was thinking of driving up to her place and just hearing her out, maybe even accept her apology. She doesn't really apologize to anyone so I think she may really have meant it."

"And by you driving up to her place you mean I'd be the one who's actually driving, right?"

"Well, that's what good boyfriends do." She smiled mischievously. He sighed and got up from the bed, "Fine, I'll drive you to her mansion." He said with a jingle of his car keys.

She hugged him, kissed his cheek and said, "Uh, I may have to grab a quick shower before we go."

He gave a hearty chuckle, "I wonder why that might be."

"I don't know but suddenly I feel very _dirty_." She whispered as she passed him by. She opened her wardrobe and swiftly settled on a pair of burgundy skinny jeans and a light blue shirt, a pair of clean underwear and a fresh bra.

She quickly walked down to the bathroom with Caleb closely following her with a smile. When they were downstairs Cornelia made her way towards the bathroom stopping only to kiss Caleb and say that she wouldn't be long. As he approached the living room, he noticed it was eerily dark and that the only light in the room was being emitted from the TV.

He walked inside and saw Beatrice (as she liked to be called) sitting in an armchair holding two long needles and a ball of yarn. Apparently she was knitting but how she was doing it in the dark without stabbing herself was a mystery to Caleb but he just shrugged and figured that she must have been doing this for years now. He looked to his right and saw Mrs. Hale sitting on the sofa, holding a steaming cup of chamomile tea. As he took a closer look he noticed she looked really tired and he felt sorry for her. She reminded him of his _own_ mother. She used to do the same exact thing after a long, hard day of looking after him and his two younger siblings. But now she finally for a break from it all since he took on the responsibility to care of them.

His train of thought was brought to a complete halt by someone rustling in a bag of potato chips. Once he saw a certain young girl having her hair done up in two separate pony-tails, jumping up and down he knew it was Lillian. She was happily munching on the bag of potato chips while hopping up and down on her knees. With a smile spread across his face he sat in the last remaining armchair which was just facing Beatrice.

"You two were up there quite a long time, young man." Beatrice said keeping her gaze steady on the TV still doing her knitting without a problem.

"We were just talking." He fumbled with his thumbs and tried to concentrate on watching _Fish Hooks. _"She was really upset." If she really knew what they were doing up there she would forget about the knitting and just thrust those needles straight at him.

"It didn't look that way when Lillian walked in, did it?" Mrs. Hale said as she took another sip of her tea. She rested the now empty cup on the coffee table and yawned. "She said Cornelia was sitting right on top of you."

Lillian jumped in, having her hands greasy which she was happily licking. "Yep, that's what I said." She said between a lick, she looked close to a sugar rush which Caleb was sure Mrs. Hale was in no mood for.

"We were just talking." He repeated and prayed that Cornelia wouldn't be long. They continued on watching _Fish Hooks_ in silence or so Caleb hoped.

Once in the bathroom, Cornelia peeled out of her clothes and left them in a heap on the floor. She looked down at her naked body where she saw that the lower part of her stomach was covered in bandages.

After wrapping the bandages in plastic, like her doctor suggested she would do before bathing, she stepped in the shower.

The lukewarm water was just what she needed to feel whole again. She lathered, rinsed and stepped out. Once toweled off, she sprayed herself with vanilla spice and got dressed. She went to the living room freshly showered, and feeling like she could conquer the world.

She came up from behind the living room and enveloped her mother in an awkward kind of hug but she knew her mother wouldn't mind the least bit. "Mom, we're going out but we won't be long." She bent over the sofa and kissed her mother's cheek.

"Ok." She said. "Just don't be _too_ long. Remember the doctor told you to take it easy for the next few days." Caleb gladly got up from the arm chair he was sitting on and handed Cornelia, her grey jacket from the coat rack and her matching beanie.

"Mom, don't worry too much. _You_ should be the one who should take it easy." Cornelia said as Caleb helped her put on her jacket. Her mother smiled and nodded. She knew her daughter was right and so went up to bed her mother could take care of Lillian for another hour or so. They said their goodbyes and walked to the car.

"What the hell took you so long?" Caleb said. He pressed his automatic key to unlock the car doors as he quickened his pace. As the taillights blinked to acknowledge the command, they illuminated the garage door.

Cornelia couldn't help but smile, the way Caleb spoke when he was flustered was just too funny. "I was just taking a shower. I didn't take _that_ long." They reached the car and she opened the door.

"Yeah, any longer and I was sure your Grandmother was going to thrust her knitting needles… hqhm…somewhere quite private." He said with a wince as he imagined what it would feel like. This made Cornelia double over laughing stopping only when she felt the sting in her back. He ignored her and entered the car closely followed by Cornelia who was wiping tears from her cheeks. Once strapped in, he sped to the Parkers' mansion. He remembered the way since he'd been there a couple of times when he was dating Hayley. It was a long drive and he only stopped once he was within view of the most magnificent mansion they had ever laid eyes on.

They approached enormous wrought iron gates that sported the Parker family crest on each side. This consisted of a golden Knight's helmet skillfully welded on an oval ring show-cased on either side of the gates which gave it a regal sense of appearance.

They stopped and pressed the buzzer located on the driver's left hand side. A male voice spoke asking who it was. Caleb explained why they were there and waited for the gates to open. A buzzing noise was heard and they opened slowly. Once they were fully opened, he drove on. On entering the grand gateway, the graveled driveway took to a long drive which had the most glorious pine trees they had ever seen and considering Caleb came from Meridian, a place surrounded by every kind of tree imaginable, it was kind of breath taking.

"I can only begin to imagine how beautiful it would be in the spring time." Cornelia said, completely baffled at the beauty of it all. Being the earth guardian and all, she could almost imagine what it would be like.

The sun was entirely gone now and Caleb turned on the headlights. He figured with all this wildlife around them, he could easily run over a deer and that wouldn't be such a pretty sight so he was just taking safety measures. After a couple of minutes of driving in partial darkness, a dozen lamp-posts or so illuminated the rest of the way.

The rest of the drive led to a magnificent courtyard hosting a beautiful lion fountain. It consisted of 3 marble tiers, each slightly bigger than the next, show casing 3 bronze lion heads right in the middle of the stunning fountain. All of which, gushing with clearest water there was.

"Whoa! Now that's what I call fancy." Cornelia said gawking at the fountain, fascinated by the sturdy structure.

"Yeah, and you'd think Hayley would at least show some class once in a while." Caleb replied, parking right in front of the mansion as he did so.

The mansion was set on a slight hill and made out of what looked like, white stone. It was five stories tall, capped by a burgundy colored roof. The slopping rooftop gave the whole mansion a somewhat homey feel even though it looked like a fortress.

Caleb turned off the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt. He turned to face Cornelia and said, "Are you ready?" She nodded and unbuckled her own seatbelt. Caleb got out first and stretched a bit. It was a long drive and it really took a toll on him, but if it was what Cornelia wanted then he'd do what he had to to make her happy, he would walk to the ends of the earth for her. And he knew that she would gladly do the same for him.

They walked to grand oak doors both having beautiful brass knockers crafted in the shape of lions' heads. He grabbed one and knocked three times then, waited for someone to open the door. Just as Caleb was about to say something someone opened the door and said;

"May I help you?"

"Uh… we came to see Hayley." Cornelia said, "She isn't expecting us but we just needed a moment to talk."

"I'm sorry, but Ms. Parker isn't feeling like herself and requested for no one to come by and see her." He said. This apparently was the butler. He was kind of old, having a crop of grey hair plastered on the top of his head. He had beady little eyes and was wearing the 'traditional' butler suit.

"I'm sorry." Just as he was about to close the door, Hayley walked behind him, holding a bowl of cereal, and told him that it was alright. She let them inside and walked them to the living room. Cornelia scanned the area and noticed that it looked more like a palace than a home. Paintings of the Parker family hung on the walls and beautiful rugs were spread across the tiled floors. She noticed Hayley's living room totally didn't look anything like her own. If she had a 32 inch television Hayley had a 50 inch plasma screen hoisted on the wall. And if Cornelia only had a three seater sofa and two armchairs, Hayley had a white leather six seater sofa spread across the entire room. Hayley saw Cornelia gawking at the exquisite furniture and, between bites, said, "Please, make yourselves comfortable." Caleb looked utterly bored and just sat down without a word or glance at the furniture Hayley had. Cornelia sat next to him and Hayley sat two seats further where they were. Apparently, she _really_ wasn't feeling like herself. It was either that or she was really on the verge of change.

Just as Hayley was about to say something, a maid entered the living room with a tray full of cookies. Cornelia looked totally weireded out by this notion she never took Hayley as the cookie-type so Caleb explained that this was customary when someone visited the grand mansion.

"Go ahead, help yourselves." Hayley said, resting the still full bowl on the mahogany coffee-table. Caleb, somehow always being hungry, automatically took one and stuffed it in his mouth. Cornelia looked embarrassed by Caleb's behavior but said nothing about it. She took one as not to be rude.

"Listen Hayley I'm just going to cut to the chase," Cornelia began, "We came here, well _I_ came here Caleb just agreed to drive me since I'm in no condition to drive," she said with a forced smile, trying to make this less awkward then it had to be, "I came here to apologize for my behavior earlier this afternoon and to…"

"No, no. That's perfectly understandable, I would have behaved the same way." Hayley replied, stopping Cornelia in mid-sentence.

"I also came here to accept your apology. I now see I acted too cruelly towards you." She sat the cookie down on a napkin and waited for a response.

"Oh, thank you. I know I can be a bitch sometimes…well most of the time but now I see that I was out of line when I made fun of you in front of the whole school." She turned around to face the couple, "I don't know what it's like to be sick all the time or how it feels to have doctors do weird tests on you so I'll just say it again. I'm sorry."

Cornelia was silent for a few minutes, she couldn't believe that the girl she hated so much, the girl who hurt her so much was actually apologizing for her 'crimes'. Caleb on the other hand just kept eating the cookies, looking too interested in the walnut cookies to care what Hayley had just said. "Wow, I've never heard you actually apologize. I mean… wow." At this comment Hayley burst out laughing which made Cornelia laugh as well.

"I heard you had surgery…a bone marrow transplant was it?" Hayley enquired.

"Yeah, I did." Cornelia said. She told her what happened and the procedure the doctors did on both her mother and herself, how she was feeling and how unexpected her apology was. They spent the remainder of the night talking as if they were old friends.

**End of Chapter 9**

**Well that's chapter 9 for ya. I hoped you guys liked it. I know it WAAAAAYYYYY too long but I haven't written for these past few years (OMG I HAVEN"T WRITTEN IN YEARS!) so I just wanted to make it up as best I could. I know it's a crappy ending but I thought I'd show you Cornelia's forgiving nature xD. Well leave a review or 2 –xKrissyx-**


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